Obesity in middle age increases dementia risk

May, 2011

A large Swedish study confirms earlier indications that excess weight in midlife increases your risk of dementia in old age.

Supporting earlier research, a study involving 8,534 older adults (65+; mean age 74.4) has found those who were obese in middle age had almost four times (300%) more risk of developing dementia. Those who were overweight in middle age had a 1.8 times (80%) higher risk of developing dementia.

Participants were drawn from the Swedish Twin Registry. Height and weight had been measured at a mean age of 43.3, and 29.8% were defined as overweight or obese. Dementia was diagnosed in 350 participants (4.1%), with a further 114 (1.33%) diagnosed as questionable.

Apart from the clear links between excess weight and risk factors such as cholesterol, diabetes, hypertension, inflammation, there are also correlational factors. Higher education (which helps protect against brain damage) was also associated with about 10% reduced risk of overweight and obesity.

Reference: 

Related News

Mild cognitive impairment (

A large study using data from the famous Framingham Heart Study has compared changes in dementia onset over the last three decades. The study found that over time the age of onset has increased while the length of time spent with dementia has decreased.

Data from more than 17,000 healthy people aged 50 and over has revealed that the more regularly participants engaged with word puzzles, the better they performed on tasks assessing attention, reasoning and memory.

Unplanned hospitalizations accelerate cognitive decline in older adults

Data from the Rush Memory and Aging Project has found that emergency and urgent hospitalizations are associated with an increased rate of cognitive decline in older adults.

A Finnish study involving 338 older adults (average age 66) has found that greater muscle strength is associated with better cognitive function.

Data from over 11,500 participants in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) cohort has found evidence that orthostatic hypotension in middle age may increase the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia 20 years later.

A review of 39 studies investigating the effect of exercise on cognition in older adults (50+) confirms that physical exercise does indeed improve cognitive function in the over 50s, regardless of their cognitive status.

A Canadian study involving 40 older adults (59-81), none of whom were aware of any major memory problems, has found that those scoring below 26 on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) dementia screening test also showed shrinking of the anterolateral

A study involving 35 adults with

In Australia, it has beens estimated that 9% of people aged over 65, and 30% of those aged over 85 have dementia. However, these estimates are largely based on older data from other countries, or small local samples.

Pages

Subscribe to Latest newsSubscribe to Latest newsSubscribe to Latest health newsSubscribe to Latest news
Error | About memory

Error

The website encountered an unexpected error. Please try again later.