Data Management And Sharing System of China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases
BODY MASS INDEX ACROSS ADULT LIFE AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN THE AMERICAN ELDERLY
First author：YUN ZHOU
Corresponding author：Shengxu Li, MD,Lin Yang, PhD
essential_information
2020-05-08
Published articles
Journal：Aging
Publication type: Original Contributions
IF(IF): 4.831
PMID: 2020，12（10）：9344-9353 Link To Pubmed Full text Download
Background And Purpose
Obesity has a wide range of health consequences. However, available evidence on the association between obesity and cognitive function in adults has been inconsistent. Some studies support an inverse association between different obesity measures and cognitive function[4-6], even in individuals with normal weight obesity[4], while others support a positive association in older adults [7-10]. The Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging reports that obesity is associated with poorer performance in a variety of cognitive domains but better performance on tests of attention and visuospatial ability[11].
Method
NHANES is a series of continuous surveys of national representative samples of the non-institutionalized general population of the United States, conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), to assess the health and nutritional status of adults and children (http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes.htm). Demographic, socioeconomic, dietary, and health-related data were collected by personal interviews. Information on weight history in adult life, including body weight at age 25 years, 10 years and one year before the interview, and height at age 25 years was obtained by the personal interview. Between 2011 and 2014, participants who were aged 60 years or older were eligible for cognitive function assessment. Those who had complete data on all cognitive function tests and on covariates (described later) were included in the study (n=2,637). The National Centers for Health Statistics Institutional Review Board reviewed and approved the study protocol (Protocol #2011-17) for the 2011-2014 surveys.
Conclusion
In conclusion, high BMI in early adult life is associated with low cognitive function in late life, which underscores the importance of a healthy body weight across the life course. The association between BMI and cognitive function at late life requires further investigation.
Main results
This study aimed to examine the associations of body mass index (BMI) across adult life with cognitive function in 2,637 participants aged 60 years or over from NHANES 2011-2014. The primary outcome was a composite score based on test scores on word list learning, animal naming, and digit symbol substitution. Exposures of interest included BMI at age 25, BMI 10 years before the survey, BMI at the survey, and BMI burden calculated from age 25 to age at survey. BMI at age 25 was inversely associated with the composite score (β=-0.0271±0.0130 per kg/m2, P=0.038) and positively (odd ratio=1.04, 95% confidence interval: 1.01-1.07, P=0.010) with low cognitive performance, defined as below 20 percentile of the composite score. Similar results were observed for BMI 10 years before the survey and BMI burden. BMI at the survey was positively associated with the composite score (β=0.0369±0.0113, P=0.001) and inversely with low cognitive performance (odd ratio=0.96, 95% confidence interval: 0.94-0.99, P=0.004).