Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2009 Jan;64(1):103-9.
doi: 10.1093/gerona/gln006. Epub 2009 Jan 23.

Body adiposity in late life and risk of dementia or cognitive impairment in a longitudinal community-based study

Nancy A West  1 , Mary N Haan
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Body adiposity in late life and risk of dementia or cognitive impairment in a longitudinal community-based study

Nancy A West et al. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2009 Jan.

Abstract

Background: The association between body adiposity at older ages and the development of cognitive impairment is unclear.

Methods: The association of body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference in late life with incidence of cognitive impairment was prospectively examined in a cohort study of 1,351 Latinos, aged 60-101 and residents of the Sacramento, CA, area at study baseline. The status of dementia and "cognitive impairment but not demented" (CIND) was determined at baseline and at each of five follow-up examinations by a multistage assessment protocol. Incident cases of dementia and CIND were combined (dementia/CIND) for more than 8 years of follow-up. BMI was categorized as less than 25.0, 25.0-29.9 (overweight), and 30 kg/m(2) or greater (obese). Waist circumference was categorized into sex-specific tertiles.

Results: Dementia/CIND was diagnosed in 110 (8.2%) participants. Compared with the lowest BMI category, overweight participants had a 48% decreased rate of dementia/CIND (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 0.52, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.30-0.91) and obese participants had a 61% decreased rate of dementia/CIND (HR = 0.39, 95% CI: 0.20-0.78). Rates of dementia/CIND for the middle and high tertile of waist circumference, compared with the low tertile, were 80% and 90% higher, respectively (adjusted HR = 1.8, 95% CI: 1.1-3.1, and adjusted HR = 1.9, 95% CI: 0.91-3.8).

Conclusions: Abdominal fat in late life appears to confer an increased risk for dementia/CIND, whereas overall obesity appears to be protective. This may reflect age-related changes in body composition and the association of visceral fat with metabolic dysregulation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Survival to dementia and cognitive impairment but not demented by tertile of waist circumference at baseline, adjusted for body mass index category, sex, education, and height.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Survival to dementia and cognitive impairment but not demented by body mass index category, adjusted for waist circumference tertile, sex, education, and height.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Horber FF, Gruber B, Thomi F, Jensen EX, Jaeger P. Effect of sex and age on bone mass, body composition and fuel metabolism in humans. Nutrition. 1997;13:524–534. - PubMed
    1. Snijder MB, van Dam RM, Visser M, Seidell JC. What aspects of body fat are particularly hazardous and how do we measure them? Int J Epidemiol. 2006;35:83–92. - PubMed
    1. Wang Q, Hassager C, Ravn P, Wang S, Christiansen C. Total and regional body-composition changes in early postmenopausal women: age-related or menopause-related? Am J Clin Nutr. 1994;60:843–848. - PubMed
    1. Zamboni M, Armellini F, Harris T, et al. Effects of age on body fat distribution and cardiovascular risk factors in women. Am J Clin Nutr. 1997;66:111–115. - PubMed
    1. Ohlson LO, Larsson B, Svardsudd K, et al. The influence of body fat distribution on the incidence of diabetes mellitus. 13.5 years of follow-up of the participants in the study of men born in 1913. Diabetes. 1985;34:1055–1058. - PubMed

Publication types