Longitudinal Examination of Obesity and Cognitive Function: Results from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging
Open Access
- 18 March 2010
- journal article
- research article
- Published by S. Karger AG in Neuroepidemiology
- Vol. 34 (4), 222-229
- https://doi.org/10.1159/000297742
Abstract
Background: Obesity indices (i.e. BMI, waist-to-hip ratio) show differential relationships to other health outcomes, though their association to neurocognitive outcome is unclear. Methods: We examined whether central obesity would be more closely associated with cognitive function in 1,703 participants from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. Results: Longitudinal mixed-effects regression models showed multiple obesity indices were associated with poorer performance in a variety of cognitive domains, including global screening measures, memory, and verbal fluency tasks. Obesity was associated with better performance on tests of attention and visuospatial ability. An obesity index by age interaction emerged in multiple domains, including memory and attention/executive function. Conclusion: Obesity indices showed similar associations to cognitive function, and further work is needed to clarify the physiological mechanisms that link obesity to poor neurocognitive outcome.Keywords
This publication has 55 references indexed in Scilit:
- Evidence of executive dysfunction in extremely obese adolescents: a pilot studySurgery for Obesity and Related Diseases, 2009
- Overweight Is Associated With Decreased Cognitive Functioning Among School‐age Children and AdolescentsObesity, 2008
- Update on hypertension and Alzheimer's diseaseNeurological Research, 2006
- The effect of body mass index on global brain volume in middle-aged adults: a cross sectional studyBMC Neurology, 2005
- Cognitive Function in Normal‐Weight, Overweight, and Obese Older Adults: An Analysis of the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly CohortJournal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2005
- Interactive Effect of Obesity Indexes on CognitionDementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders, 2005
- Obesity-Associated HypertensionHypertension, 2005
- Medical Consequences of ObesityJournal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2004
- Body mass index and white matter lesions in elderly women. An 18-year longitudinal studyInternational Psychogeriatrics, 2004
- Obesity, Fat Distribution, and Weight Gain as Risk Factors for Clinical Diabetes in MenDiabetes Care, 1994