Overview: A new study reveals that changes in weight over a person’s life may predict later dementia.
sauce: Boston University School of Medicine
Dementia is a global public health concern that currently affects 50 million people and is expected to rise dramatically to more than 150 million people worldwide by 2050.
Obesity, commonly measured by body mass index (BMI), continues to be a global epidemic, and early research suggests that obesity in middle age may lead to an increased risk of dementia. Suggested. However, the association between BMI and dementia risk remains unclear.
Researchers from Boston University’s Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College now show that different patterns of BMI change over an individual’s lifetime may be indicators of dementia risk. I discovered something.
“Previous studies examining weight trajectories did not consider how weight gain/stable/decrease patterns could help indicate that dementia might be imminent. These findings are important,” explained Rhoda Au, PhD, lead author and professor of anatomy. and neurobiology.
Through the Framingham Heart Study, a group of participants were followed for 39 years and weighed approximately every 2 to 4 years. Researchers compared different weight patterns (stable, increasing, decreasing) in people who had dementia and those who did not.
They found that an overall trend of lower BMI was associated with an increased risk of developing dementia. A subgroup with a decreasing pattern was found. Both occurred in middle age and appeared to be central to the diminishing association between BMI and dementia.
Au points out that monitoring weight is relatively easy for individuals, families, and their doctors.
“After a general steady increase in weight as you age, if there is an unexpected change to weight loss after middle age, it is recommended that you consult with your health care provider to determine the reason(s). Several potential treatments are emerging, and as these treatments become approved and available, early detection may be critical in their efficacy.” she adds.
Researchers hope the study will show that the seeds of dementia risk are being sown over years, possibly over a lifetime.
“Dementia is not always inevitable, and monitoring easily noticeable risk indicators like weight patterns provides an opportunity for early intervention that can alter the trajectory of disease onset and progression. There is a possibility.”
About this dementia research news
author: press office
sauce: Boston University School of Medicine
contact: Press Office – Boston University School of Medicine
image: image is public domain
Original research: open access.
“Relationship between BMI decline patterns and dementia risk at 40 years follow-up in the Framingham Study,” Jinlei Li et al. Alzheimer’s disease and dementia
See also
Overview
Relationship between BMI decline pattern and dementia risk at 40-year follow-up in the Framingham Study
Background
Obesity is associated with an increased risk of dementia, and several studies have reported an inverse relationship with weight loss preceding the onset of dementia.
method
We included 2,45 non-demented Framingham Offspring participants aged 30 to 50 years with 39 years of follow-up to examine the effects of patterns of decline in body mass index (BMI) in middle to late life. . A group-based trajectory model was used to create the BMI trajectories.
result
A downward trend in BMI was associated with a higher risk of developing dementia later in life. Decreasers with a pattern of an initial increase in early middle age followed by a subsequent decrease in BMI in middle age had a higher risk of dementia compared with non-decreasers (hazard ratio 3.84, 95% confidence interval 1.39–10.60).
Conclusion
A decreasing pattern of BMI was associated with dementia, whereas the subgroup with a pattern of first rising BMI followed by falling BMI, both occurring in middle age, was associated with an association between BMI and dementia. It appeared to be in the center of a decline. Further validation is needed before firm conclusions can be made.
