Obesity link to dementia in women

[LibLabUK]

Women who are obese for many years are more likely to suffer brain cell loss linked to dementia, according to new research.

The Swedish team followed 290 women over 24 years and found that women who were obese during this period were much more likely than slim women to show brain atrophy - the abnormal loss of neurons - by the end of the study.

Deborah Gustafson and colleagues at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden measured the body mass index (BMI) of the women between 1968 and 1992. On their final visit the women – then aged between 70 and 84 – also underwent CT scans of their brains.

The researchers found that almost half of the women showed brain cell death in the temporal lobes in 1992 and on average these women had a higher BMI – their height in metres, squared, divided by their weight in kilograms – than those who showed no brain cell loss. Brain shrinkage in this area is associated with Alzheimer’s disease and loss of cognitive function.

Source:New Scientist

[demnan]

1. Say what

Oh, I forgot!

[Demeter]

2. What About Men?

Those that live long enough, of course.

[SnowGoose]

3. Problem with data interpretation

I didn't go to Neurology, where the actual study is published, but from what's in New Scientist, it sounds like they only did the CT at the end of the study ~ which means they don't know what these subjects' brains looked like before the 24 year study period. It could be that people with certain brain morphologies tend to put on more weight.

Even if they had done the CT's at the beginning of the study, it doesn't demonstrate causality. It could be that brain atrophy and weight gain both derive from an underlying cause (such as leptin deficiency), rather than obesity causing the brain atrophy.

/<Curmudgeon mode off>

[yo-yo-ma]

4. Another problem with data interpretation

No clinical correlation -- dementia is a clinical diagnosis.
Although brain imaging is an area of research, the only true diagnosis of Alzheimer's is post mortem examination of the brain for plaques.

Epidemiologically speaking, I doubt that obesity is really associated with dementia - because the main risk factor for dementia is age, and obesity is associated with earlier death.