title: Central Adiposity and Cortical Thickness in Midlife.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Excessive visceral fat is associated with greater metabolic fluctuation and increased risk for dementia in older adults. The aim of the current study is to directly determine the impact of central adiposity on brain structure at midlife by examining the thickness of the cerebral cortex.
  
  
  METHODS
  High-resolution magnetization-prepared rapid acquisition gradient-echo images were obtained from 103 participants aged 40 to 60 years (mean [standard deviation] = 49.63 [6.47] years) on a 3-T Siemens Skyra scanner. Visceral fat was measured using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Individuals with higher visceral fat mass and volume had significantly thicker cortex in the right posterior cingulate gyrus (β = 0.29 [p = .019] and β = 0.31 [p = .011], respectively), controlling for age, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol level, and blood glucose level.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Visceral fat was significantly associated with thicker cortex in the posterior cingulate gyrus. Although future studies are necessary, these results indicate that central adiposity is associated with significant metabolic changes that impinge upon the central nervous system in middle age.
authors.affiliation: From the Departments of Psychology (Kaur, Gonzales, McNeely, Haley) and Kinesiology and Health Education (Strasser, Pasha, Tanaka), The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas; and University of Texas Imaging Research Center (Haley), Austin, Texas.
authors.forename: Sonya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kaur
authors.forename: Mitzi M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Gonzales
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Strasser
authors.forename: Evan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pasha
authors.forename: Jasmine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McNeely
authors.forename: Hirofumi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Andreana P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Haley
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D050154:Adiposity / Q000502:physiology; D000328:Adult; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D056128:Obesity, Abdominal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*