Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42102760›Full record

ArticleThe journal of nutrition, health & aging2026

Association of dietary copper intake with Alzheimer's disease, brain structure and cognitive function.

Xintong Wu, Yan Chen, Hao Liu, Zhaochen Sun, Ping Sun, Yuping Liu, Ping Shuai, Han Yang, Liangliang Yang, Zhengwei Wan

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In one paragraph

Article in The journal of nutrition, health & aging, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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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

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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

10 authors.

Xintong WuSchool of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
Yan ChenDepartment of Health Management Center and Institute of Health Management, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
Hao LiuDepartment of Health Management Center and Institute of Health Management, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; School of Public Health, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China.
Zhaochen SunDepartment of Health Management Center and Institute of Health Management, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; School of Public Health, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China.
Ping SunDepartment of Health Management Center and Institute of Health Management, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
Yuping LiuDepartment of Health Management Center and Institute of Health Management, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
Ping ShuaiDepartment of Health Management Center and Institute of Health Management, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
Han YangDivision of Internal Medicine, Institute of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China. Electronic address: yanghan.tcm@wchscu.edu.cn.
Liangliang YangDepartment of Health Management Center and Institute of Health Management, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China. Electronic address: 028yll@163.com.
Zhengwei WanDepartment of Health Management Center and Institute of Health Management, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China. Electronic address: 18715799366@163.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThis study aimed to investigate the relationships between dietary copper intake and the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD), cognitive function, and brain structural measures.

designA combined prospective cohort and cross-sectional analysis.

settingThe UK Biobank.

participantsThis analysis included 126,660 participants (56,053 males and 70,607 females) from the UK Biobank who were free of baseline dementia and had complete dietary data. The mean age at baseline was 56.14 ± 7.83 years, and the median dietary copper intake was 1.33 mg/day (IQR: 1.10-1.61). MEASUREMENTS: Dietary copper intake was assessed via 24-h dietary recalls. AD diagnosis was obtained from health records. Cognitive function and brain structural measures were derived from neuropsychological assessments and MRI scans, respectively. Cox proportional hazards models with restricted cubic splines were used to examine associations.

resultsOver a median follow-up of 13.34 years, 619 participants developed AD. A nonlinear U-shaped association was observed between copper intake and AD risk (P for nonlinearity <0.001), with the lowest risk at an intake of 1.57 mg/day. Compared to the reference intake (1-2 mg/day), both lower and higher intakes were associated with increased AD risk, with the highest risk at intakes ≥3 mg/day (HR = 2.73, 95% CI: 1.53-4.87). This pattern remained consistent across subgroups stratified by genetic risk. Copper intake also showed significant nonlinear associations with cognitive function and brain structure, with optimal ranges consistently observed between approximately 1.3 and 2.0 mg/day.

conclusionDietary copper intake exhibits a U-shaped association with AD risk, and maintaining intake within an appropriate range (approximately 1.3-2.0 mg/day) may help reduce AD risk and benefit cognitive function and brain health.

Indexed as

Alzheimer DiseaseBrainCognitionCopperDietAgedCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMiddle AgedNeuropsychological TestsProportional Hazards ModelsProspective StudiesRisk FactorsCopperAlzheimer’s diseaseBrain healthCognition fictionCopper intakeU-shaped association

Identifiers

PMID42102760
PMCPMC13185901

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
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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 Socratic graph.