4.5 Article

Higher body mass index in older adults is associated with lower gray matter volume: implications for memory performance

Journal

NEUROBIOLOGY OF AGING
Volume 40, Issue -, Pages 1-10

Publisher

ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2015.12.020

Keywords

Cognitive aging; VBM; Cognitive performance; Healthy aging; Lifestyle factors; Overweight; Adiposity; Cohort studies

Funding

  1. European Union
  2. European Regional Development Fund
  3. Free State of Saxony within the framework of the excellence initiative
  4. LIFE-Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases, University of Leipzig [713-241202, 14505/2470, 14575/2470]
  5. German Research Foundation [CRC1052]

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Midlife obesity has been associated with increased dementia risk, yet reports on brain structure and function are mixed. We therefore assessed the effects of body mass index (BMI) on gray matter volume (GMV) and cognition in a well-characterized sample of community-dwelled older adults. GMV was measured using 3T-neuroimaging in 617 participants (258 women, 60-80 years, BMI 17-41 kg/m(2)). In addition, cognitive performance and various confounders including hypertension, diabetes, and apolipoprotein E genotype were assessed. A higher BMI correlated significantly with lower GMV in multiple brain regions, including (pre)frontal, temporal, insular and occipital cortex, thalamus, putamen, amygdala, and cerebellum, even after adjusting for confounders. In addition, lower GMV in prefrontal and thalamic areas partially mediated negative effects of (1) higher BMI and (2) higher age on memory performance. We here showed that a higher BMI in older adults is associated with widespread gray matter alterations, irrespective of obesity-related comorbidities and other confounders. Our results further indicate that a higher BMI induces structural alterations that translate into subtle impairments in memory performance in aging. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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