Obesity is linked with lower brain volume in 700 AD and MCI patients.
Obesity is associated with lower brain volumes in cognitively normal elderly subjects, but no study has yet investigated the effects of obesity on brain structure in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or Alzheimer's disease (AD). To determine if higher body mass index (BMI) is associated with brain volume deficits in cognitively impaired elderly subjects, we analyzed brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of 700 MCI or AD patients from 2 different cohorts: the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) and the Cardiovascular Health Study-Cognition Study (CHS-CS). Tensor-based morphometry (TBM) was used to create 3-dimensional maps of regional tissue excess or deficits in subjects with MCI (ADNI, n = 399; CHS-CS, n = 77) and AD (ADNI, n = 188; CHS, n = 36). In both AD and MCI groups, higher body mass index was associated with brain volume deficits in frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes; the atrophic pattern was consistent in both ADNI and CHS populations. Cardiovascular risk factors, especially obesity, should be considered as influencing brain structure in those already afflicted by cognitive impairment and dementia.
Ho
April J
AJ
Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, Department of Neurology, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
Raji
Cyrus A
CA
Becker
James T
JT
Lopez
Oscar L
OL
Kuller
Lewis H
LH
Hua
Xue
X
Lee
Suh
S
Hibar
Derrek
D
Dinov
Ivo D
ID
Stein
Jason L
JL
Jack
Clifford R
CR
Weiner
Michael W
MW
Toga
Arthur W
AW
Thompson
Paul M
PM
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology; D001284:Atrophy; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology*; D009929:Organ Size / Q000502:physiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors