Longitudinal Body Weight Change, Visit-To-Visit Body Weight Fluctuation, and Cognitive Decline among Older Adults

Yu Tung Lan, Deborah Blacker, Changzheng Yuan, Lori B. Chibnik, Albert Hofman, Yuan Ma*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)
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Abstract

Background: The evidence regarding dementia and late-life weight change is inconsistent, and data on body weight fluctuation and dementia are limited. Objective: To test the hypothesis that weight loss and substantial weight fluctuation predict cognitive decline independent of body weight and traditional risk factors of dementia. Methods: This study utilized longitudinal data from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center for 10,639 stroke-and dementia-free older adults (60.9%female, mean age 71.6 years, median follow-up 5.5 years). Trends in weight change and weight fluctuation were estimated for each individual by regressing repeated body weight measurements on time. Cognitive decline was examined as diagnostic progression from normal to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia and from MCI to dementia. Results: Compared to participants with stable weight, those with weight loss had increased odds of diagnostic progression (adjusted OR=1.35, 95%CI [1.21, 1.51]). Also, large weight fluctuation was associated with increased odds of diagnostic progression (OR comparing the extreme quartiles=1.20, 95%CI [1.04, 1.39]) after adjusting for traditional risk factors for dementia and body weight change the magnitude of the association appeared larger among those older than 80 and those with 3 or more cardiometabolic risk factors at baseline (both p for interaction <0.05). Conclusion: Weight loss and substantial weight fluctuation during late-life were associated with increased odds of cognitive decline independent of body weight and traditional risk factors of dementia. Our results suggested the linkage between late-life body weight instability and cognitive decline especially among those with greater age or higher cardiometabolic risk.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)777-786
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Alzheimer's Disease
Volume84
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 9 Nov 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was partly supported by the National Institute On Aging of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number K99AG071742 (Yuan Ma). The NACC database is funded by NIA/NIH Grant U01 AG016976 and NIA/NIH Grant U01 AG32984. NACC data are contributed by the NIA-funded ADRCs: P30 AG019610 (PI Eric Reiman, MD), P30 AG013846 (PI Neil Kowall, MD), P50 AG008702 (PI Scott Small, MD), P50 AG025688 (PI Allan Levey, MD, PhD), P50 AG047266 (PI Todd Golde, MD, PhD), P30 AG010133 (PI Andrew Saykin, PsyD), P50 AG005146 (PI Marilyn Albert, PhD), P50 AG005134 (PI Bradley Hyman, MD, PhD), P50 AG016574 (PI Ronald Petersen, MD, PhD), P50 AG005138 (PI Mary Sano, PhD), P30 AG008051 (PI Thomas Wisniewski, MD), P30 AG013854 (PI Robert Vassar, PhD), P30 AG008017 (PI Jeffrey Kaye, MD), P30 AG010161 (PI David Bennett, MD), P50 AG047366 (PI Victor Henderson, MD, MS), P30 AG010129 (PI Charles DeCarli, MD), P50 AG016573 (PI Frank LaFerla, PhD), P50 AG005131 (PI James Brewer, MD, PhD), P50 AG023501 (PI Bruce Miller, MD), P30 AG035982 (PI Russell Swerdlow, MD), P30 AG028383 (PI Linda Van Eldik, PhD), P30 AG053760 (PI Henry Paulson, MD, PhD), P30 AG010124 (PI John Tro-janowski, MD, PhD), P50 AG005133 (PI Oscar Lopez, MD), P50 AG005142 (PI Helena Chui, MD), P30 AG012300 (PI Roger Rosenberg, MD), P30 AG049638 (PI Suzanne Craft, PhD), P50 AG005136 (PI Thomas Grabowski, MD), P50 AG033514 (PI Sanjay Asthana, MD, FRCP), P50 AG005681 (PI John Morris, MD), P50 AG047270 (PI Stephen Strittmatter, MD, PhD).

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