Association of late-life body mass index with the risk of Alzheimer disease: a 10-year nationwide population-based cohort study

Existing data for the association between late-life body mass index (BMI) and the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in the underweight population are limited with conflicting results. A large population-based cohort study of 148,534 individuals aged >= 65 years who participated in the national health screening program from 2002 to 2005 was performed using the Korean National Health Insurance Service-Senior cohort database 2006-2015. The risk of AD according to BMI category (kg/m(2)) in Asians was evaluated using a multivariable Cox regression model, after adjustments for age, sex, lifestyle, low-income status, and comorbidities. To evaluate the association between BMI and AD risk, the underweight population was further subdivided according to the degree of thinness. During the 10-year follow-up period, 22,279 individuals developed AD. Relative to the normal-weight population, the estimated adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for incident AD in the underweight, overweight, and obese populations was 1.17 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.09-1.24), 0.90 (0.87-0.93), and 0.83 (0.80-0.85), respectively. In the underweight population, AD risk increased as the degree of thinness increased (p for the trend, < .001). Late-life BMI showed a significant inverse relationship with AD risk, especially in the underweight population. Public health strategies to screen for AD more actively in the underweight population and improve their weight status may help reduce the burden of AD.

Automated summary

This large population-based study found a significant inverse relationship between late-life body mass index (BMI) and the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD), especially in the underweight population. The results suggest that actively screening for AD and improving weight status among the underweight population may help reduce the burden of AD.