Medical Bulletin 31/July/2026

Advanced glycation end-products are reactive compounds formed naturally in the body and obtained through foods, particularly processed meats, high-fat foods, fried foods, baked products, and foods cooked at high temperatures. Previous research has linked higher dAGE intake with chronic inflammation, metabolic dysfunction, obesity, and several cancers, including breast cancer.

The study analyzed data from 40,209 women enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative Dietary Modification Trial. Participants were randomly assigned to either a low-fat dietary program or a usual-diet control group. The intervention aimed to reduce total fat intake to 20% of daily calories while increasing consumption of fruits, vegetables, and grains.

Researchers estimated participants' dAGE intake using food frequency questionnaires completed at baseline, one year, and periodically during the seven-year follow-up.

At the beginning of the study, estimated dAGE intake was similar in both groups. However, after one year, women in the low-fat intervention group showed a marked reduction in estimated dAGE intake compared with those following their usual diet. The lower intake persisted throughout the study, although the difference between the groups gradually narrowed over time.

The researchers noted that women in the intervention group generally consumed fewer red and processed meats, desserts, and added fats while increasing intake of plant-based foods, changes that were consistent with reduced dAGE exposure.

Although the findings suggest that adopting an overall low-fat, plant-forward eating pattern may naturally lower dietary AGE intake without requiring special cooking techniques, the researchers caution that this was a secondary analysis based on self-reported dietary information.

REFERENCE: Pichardo, M. S., et al. (2026). Low-fat dietary pattern and dietary advanced glycation end-products intake: a secondary analysis of the Women's Health Initiative randomized trial. British Journal of Cancer. DOI – 10.1038/s41416-026-03514-x.

Study Finds Thigh Length Home Test Can Identify Diabetes and Prediabetes Risk

AI-powered home test may detect hidden diabetes using a simple thigh measurement

Researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-based home screening tool that may accurately identify people with undiagnosed type 2 diabetes or prediabetes using simple measurements that can be taken at home—including the unexpected measurement of thigh length. The findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology.

The new tool, called MEDWACS, was designed to help identify people who may have diabetes but have not yet sought medical testing. Researchers say early detection is important because type 2 diabetes can remain unnoticed for years while increasing the risk of heart disease, kidney failure, vision loss, and other serious complications.

The AI model was developed using more than 30 years of health data from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Researchers analyzed nearly 3,700 possible health variables before selecting seven simple measurements that people can collect at home using a tape measure, bathroom scale, and blood pressure monitor.

These include age, sex, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, and thigh length. The researchers were initially surprised that thigh length emerged as an important predictor.

According to the research team, thigh length may reflect nutritional status during early childhood, which can influence diabetes risk later in life. In addition, the thighs contain the body's largest muscle groups, which play a major role in removing glucose from the bloodstream. Shorter thighs generally indicate lower muscle mass available to help regulate blood sugar.

The researchers validated MEDWACS using independent datasets from the United States and South Korea. The tool accurately identified people with prediabetes or previously undiagnosed type 2 diabetes and performed as well as—or better than—other established diabetes risk assessment methods.

Although the model has not yet been validated using Danish health data, the researchers believe its strong performance across different populations suggests it could be useful more broadly.

REFERENCE: Yoo D, Maggiore U, Jolliet O; Enhancing prediabetes and diabetes detection through a machine learning-enabled self-assessment approach; Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 2026; DOI: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2026.112266

Childhood Sugar Restriction Could Reduce Dementia Risk in Adulthood, Study Finds

Consuming less sugar during pregnancy and the first one to two years of life may lower the risk of developing dementia decades later, according to a study published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Researchers analyzed data from 64,737 people born before and after World War II sugar rationing in the United Kingdom. During and after the war, sugar was strictly rationed before becoming widely available again in 1953, creating a natural opportunity to study the long-term effects of early-life sugar exposure.

Participants were grouped based on whether they experienced sugar rationing before birth and during their first year of life, before birth and up to two years of age, or were born after rationing ended.

Starting at an average age of 55 years, researchers tracked dementia diagnoses through medical records for up to 15 years.

Among those exposed to sugar rationing before birth and during their first year, 388 of 15,025 participants developed dementia. Among those exposed through their first two years, 456 of 15,256 developed dementia, compared with 504 of 23,774 people born after sugar rationing ended.

After accounting for factors such as age, sex, high blood pressure, and diabetes, researchers found that people exposed to lower sugar levels before birth and during their first year had a 21% lower risk of dementia. Those with lower sugar exposure through the first two years had a 23% lower risk.

The study also found that dementia developed an average of 2.6 years later among people with lower early-life sugar exposure.

Brain scans available for a smaller group of participants showed that those with lower sugar intake early in life had greater gray matter volume and fewer white matter hyperintensities, a marker of brain tissue damage.

Researchers noted that the study shows an association rather than proving that lower sugar intake directly prevents dementia. They say further research is needed to understand how early-life nutrition influences long-term brain health.

REFERENCE: Zheng, J., et al. (2026). Association of Sugar Restriction in Utero Through Age 2 Years on Dementia Risk Later in Life. Neurology. DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0000000000218313.