diff --git a/CHANGELOG b/CHANGELOG
index 6f29b578a95..910954dfcd6 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG
+++ b/CHANGELOG
@@ -93,6 +93,7 @@ v 8.9.0 (unreleased)
   - Hide global side navigation by default
   - Remove tanuki logo from side navigation; center on top nav
   - Include user relationships when retrieving award_emoji
+  - Various associations are now eager loaded when parsing issue references to reduce the number of queries executed
 
 v 8.8.5 (unreleased)
   - Ensure branch cleanup regardless of whether the GitHub import process succeeds
diff --git a/lib/banzai/reference_parser/issue_parser.rb b/lib/banzai/reference_parser/issue_parser.rb
index 24076e3d9ec..f306079d833 100644
--- a/lib/banzai/reference_parser/issue_parser.rb
+++ b/lib/banzai/reference_parser/issue_parser.rb
@@ -25,7 +25,21 @@ module Banzai
       def issues_for_nodes(nodes)
         @issues_for_nodes ||= grouped_objects_for_nodes(
           nodes,
-          Issue.all.includes(:author, :assignee, :project),
+          Issue.all.includes(
+            :author,
+            :assignee,
+            {
+              # These associations are primarily used for checking permissions.
+              # Eager loading these ensures we don't end up running dozens of
+              # queries in this process.
+              project: [
+                { namespace: :owner },
+                { group: [:owners, :group_members] },
+                :invited_groups,
+                :project_members
+              ]
+            }
+          ),
           self.class.data_attribute
         )
       end