Table 1.
Summary of salient studies published in 2007 and 2008 relating adiposity and dementia. Authors are in alphabetical order.
| First author (reference) |
Study setting and description | Findings |
|---|---|---|
| Atti, AR (72) | The Kungsholmen Project in Sweden, a prospective study of 1255 persons 75 years and older with body mass index (BMI) information at baseline followed for 3, 6, and 9 years. Incident dementia was ascertained using standard research criteria. |
Persons with a BMI of 25 kg/m2 or higher had a lower risk of dementia than persons with a BMI of 20 to 24.9 kg/m2. |
| Knopman, DS (75) |
The Rochester Epidemiology Project in Rochester, MN, United States. Dementia was ascertained by a medical records linkage system. Cases of dementia were matched to controls without dementia. Weight and weight change was abstracted from medical records |
There were no differences in weight between cases and controls 21 to 30 years before dementia onset. Women with dementia had lower weight than controls starting at 11 to 20 years before diagnosis. |
| Luchsinger, JA (78) |
The Washington Heights Inwood Columbia Aging Project, a cohort study of persons 65 years and older followed for 5 years on average in New York City, United States; 893 had information on BMI, and 907 had information on waist circumference at baseline. Incident dementia was ascertained using standard research criteria. |
Compared with persons in the first quartile of BMI, persons in the third quartile had a lower dementia. The association between BMI and dementia resembled a U shape in those younger than 76 years, while dementia risk decreased with higher BMI in those 76 years and older. The fourth quartile of waist circumference was related to a higher Alzheimer disease risk in persons younger than 76 years. |
| Whitmer, RA. (69) |
A cohort study of of 6,583 members of Kaiser Permanente of Northern California, United States, who had their sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD) measured . Diagnoses of dementia were from medical records an average of 36 years later |
Compared with those in the lowest quintile of SAD, those in the highest had nearly a threefold increased risk of dementia. Those with high SAD (>25 cm) and normal BMI had nearly a doubling of dementia risk compared to those with low SAD (<25 cm) and normal BMI (18.5-24.9 kg/m2). Those with obesity (BMI >30 kg/m2) and high SAD over a tripling of dementia risk |