Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42879154›Full record

ArticleJAMA network open2026

Ultraprocessed Food Intake and Adiposity, Vascular Brain Injury, and Cognition in Middle-Aged Adults.

Russell J de Souza, Karleen M Schulze, Dipika Desai, Jean-Pierre Després, Trevor J B Dummer, Matthias G Friedrich, Jason Hicks, Vikki Ho, Scott A Lear, Douglas S Lee and 9 more

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in JAMA network open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

19 authors.

Russell J de SouzaMary Heersink School of Global Health and Social Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Karleen M SchulzePopulation Health Research Institute, Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Dipika DesaiDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Jean-Pierre DesprésVITAM-Centre de recherche en santé durable, Québec City, Quebec, Canada.
Trevor J B DummerSchool of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Canada.
Matthias G FriedrichDivision of Cardiology, McGill University Health Centre, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada.
Jason HicksAtlantic PATH, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Vikki HoUniversité de Montréal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM), Montréal, Quebec, Canada.
Scott A LearFaculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.
Douglas S LeeInstitute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Andrew MenteDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Victoria MillerPopulation Health Research Institute, Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Paul PoirierCentre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec-Université Laval, Québec City, Quebec, Canada.
Eric E SmithCumming School of Medicine, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Jean-Claude TardifMontreal Heart Institute, Montréal, Quebec, Canada.
Koon K TeoPopulation Health Research Institute, Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Jennifer E VenaAlberta's Tomorrow Project, Cancer Research & Analytics, Cancer Care Alberta, Alberta Health Services, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Salim YusufPopulation Health Research Institute, Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Sonia S AnandMary Heersink School of Global Health and Social Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Importance: Ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) account for a substantial and increasing proportion of dietary intake in Canada. Although UPFs are consistently associated with adiposity and cardiometabolic disease, their associations with subclinical vascular brain injury (VBI) and cognitive performance in midlife are unclear. Objective: To evaluate associations of UPF consumption with adiposity, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-defined VBI, and cognitive performance in middle-aged adults in Canada. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional study included 8783 adults aged 35 to 69 years without cardiovascular disease who were enrolled in the Canadian Alliance for Healthy Hearts and Healthy Minds (CAHHM) and Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology-MIND (PURE-MIND) studies. Participants from CAHHM were recruited from January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2018, and participants from PURE-MIND were recruited from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2018. Data analyses were conducted between July 16, 2024, and August 16, 2026. Exposures: UPF consumption assessed using previously validated semiquantitative food frequency questionnaires and expressed as servings per 2000 kcal/d. Main Outcomes and Measures: The main outcomes were body fat (BF) percentage (bioelectrical impedance), visceral adipose tissue (VAT) volume, hepatic fat fraction (HFF), VBI defined as covert brain infarcts or high white matter hyperintensities (HWMHs) (measured by MRI), and cognitive performance measured by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) and the Digital Symbol Substitution Test (DSST). Results: In this cross-sectional study of 8783 participants (mean [SD] age, 57.7 [8.7] years; 4917 females [56.6%]), those in the highest quartile of UPF intake had a BF percentage that was 1.7 (95% CI, 1.2-2.2) percentage points higher and a 5.7 (95% CI, 3.2-8.3) mL greater VAT volume compared with those in the lowest quartile, but no significant difference in HFF. Compared with the lowest quartile, the highest UPF quartile had higher odds of VBI (adjusted OR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.10-1.77; P for trend = .009). No significant associations were observed between UPF intake and MOCA or DSST performance. Conclusions and Relevance: In this cross-sectional study of middle-aged adults in Canada, higher UPF intake was associated with greater adiposity and higher odds of MRI-defined VBI but not cognitive performance. Associations with VBI were sensitive to UPF exposure definition. Longitudinal studies are needed to establish temporality.

Indexed as

AdiposityCognitionAdultAgedCanadaCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMiddle AgedProspective Studies

Identifiers

PMID42879154

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.