(P17-057-25) Egg Consumption and the Incidence of Alzheimer’s Disease: Insights From the Adventist Health Study-2 Cohort Linked With Medicare Data

Objectives: A significant knowledge gap exists regarding the relationship between modifiable dietary factors and Alzheimer’s disease. Eggs provide important nutrients, such as choline, omega-3 fatty acids, and lutein, for brain health. This study aimed to investigate the association between egg consumption and the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease.

Methods: A secondary data analysis of the Adventist Health Study-2 (AHS-2) cohort, linked with Medicare data, was conducted. AHS-2 is a large, long-term, population-based prospective cohort study of Seventh-day Adventists in the United States. Detailed dietary information and lifestyle factors were collected using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Energy-adjusted validity correlations for eggs were moderate to high; 0.64 for non-Blacks and 0.52 for Blacks. Egg consumption was categorized based on intake frequency, ranging from never or rarely to five or more times per week. Medicare data were used to identify clinically diagnosed cases of incident Alzheimer’s disease. After merging Medicare and AHS-2 datasets, the final analytic sample included 39,553 participants with a mean follow-up of 14.8 years, during which 2,866 cases of incident Alzheimer’s disease were identified. Multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression models, incorporating attained age, were used to estimate Hazard Ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results: Egg intake was independently associated with Alzheimer’s disease in an inverse dose-response manner. After adjusting for demographic information, lifestyle factors, major food groups, and comorbidities, the HRs relative to never or rare egg intake were: 0.83 (95% CI: 0.74–0.92) for 1–3 times per month, 0.82 (0.73–0.93) for 1 time per week, 0.79 (0.70–0.89) for 2–4 times per week, and 0.72 (0.59-0.88) for 5 or more times per week. Participants consuming eggs five or more times per week experienced a 28% reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease compared to non-consumers.

Conclusions: In this health-conscious population, within their egg intake range, frequent egg consumption was associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease compared to no habitual egg intake. These findings suggest that important nutrients in eggs may have a protective role against the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

Funding Sources: American Egg Board