title: Associations of fat and muscle tissue with cognitive status in older adults: the AGES-Reykjavik Study.
abstract: studies on the association of dementia with specific body composition (BC) components are scarce. Our aim was to investigate associations of BC measures with different levels of cognitive function in late-life.
  
  
  
  we studied 5,169 participants (mean age 76 years, 42.9% men) in the AGES-Reykjavik Study of whom 485 (9.4%) were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 307 (5.9%) with dementia. Visceral fat, abdominal and thigh subcutaneous fat, and thigh muscle were assessed by computed tomography. MCI and dementia were based on clinical assessment and a consensus meeting; those without MCI or dementia were categorised as normal. Multinomial regression models assessed the associations stratified by sex and in additional analyses by midlife body mass index (BMI).
  
  
  
  among women, there was a decreased likelihood of dementia per SD increase in abdominal subcutaneous fat (OR 0.72; 95% CI: 0.59-0.88), thigh subcutaneous fat (0.81; 0.67-0.98) and thigh muscle (0.63; 0.52-0.76), but not visceral fat, adjusting for demographics, vascular risk factors, stroke and depression. Inverse associations of fat with dementia were attenuated by weight change from midlife and were strongest in women with midlife BMI <25. In men, one SD increase in thigh muscle was associated with a decreased likelihood of dementia (0.75; 0.61-0.92). BC was not associated with MCI in men or women.
  
  
  
  a higher amount of abdominal and thigh subcutaneous fat were associated with a lower likelihood of dementia in women only, while more thigh muscle was associated with a lower likelihood of dementia in men and women.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Maastricht University Medical Center and School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Peggy J J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Spauwen
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Epidemiology and Population Sciences, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Rachel A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatrics, Landspitali National University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland.
authors.forename: Pálmi V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Jónsson
authors.affiliation: Icelandic Heart Association Research Institute, Kopavogur, Iceland.
authors.forename: Sigurdur
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sigurdsson
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Epidemiology and Population Sciences, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Melissa E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.affiliation: Icelandic Heart Association Research Institute, Kopavogur, Iceland.
authors.forename: Gudny
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Eiriksdottir
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Maastricht University Medical Center and School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Martin P J
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: van Boxtel
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Oscar L
authors.initials: OL
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.affiliation: Icelandic Heart Association Research Institute, Kopavogur, Iceland.
authors.forename: Vilmundur
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gudnason
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Epidemiology and Population Sciences, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Tamara B
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Epidemiology and Population Sciences, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Lenore J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Launer
mesh_terms: D050153:Abdominal Fat / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D050154:Adiposity; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003071:Cognition; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D000066492:Cognitive Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007055:Iceland / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D000073216:Mental Status and Dementia Tests; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D065840:Protective Factors; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D050151:Subcutaneous Fat; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
keywords: ageing; body composition; cognition; dementia; older people; weight loss