Body mass index in early adulthood and dementia in late life: Findings from a pooled cohort

Introduction To examine the independent association of body mass index (BMI) in early adulthood with dementia incidence among men and women. Methods We studied 5104 older adults from the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) and the Health, Aging, and Body Composition (Health ABC) study. We imputed early adulthood and midlife BMI using a pooled parent cohort with complete adult lifespan coverage and previously established methods. Dementia was ascertained using criteria such as neuropsychological test battery, medical records, and dementia-related drug use. Pooled logistic regression (PLR) models were used. Results Compared to women with normal BMI in early adulthood, the odds of dementia were higher among both overweight (odds ratio [OR] = 1.8; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.31 to 2.54) and obese (OR = 2.45; 95% CI = 1.47 to 4.06) women, independent of mid- and late-life BMI. Similar relationship was observed in men. Conclusions With the growing obesity epidemic among US adults, efforts aimed at reducing dementia may need to begin obesity prevention and treatment early in the life course.

Automated summary

The study found that compared to women with normal BMI in early adulthood, the odds of dementia were higher among overweight and obese women, independent of mid- and late-life BMI. A similar relationship was observed in men. Therefore, efforts to reduce dementia incidence may need to focus on obesity prevention and treatment early in life.