Obesity linked to dementia in women

[nikotyme]

Lifelong Obesity Linked to Brain Atrophy and Dementia

By Jennifer Warner (http://content.health.msn.com/content/Biography/7/1756_54621.htm)

Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD (http://content.health.msn.com/content/Biography/7/40428.htm)
on Monday, November 22, 2004
WebMD Medical News





Nov. 22, 2004 -- Carrying too many extra pounds during your life may take its toll on your brain as well as your body, according to a new study.

Swedish researchers found that women who were obese throughout their adult lives were more likely to lose brain tissue, a condition known as brain atrophy that has been linked to impaired brain function and dementia.

The study didn't answer the question of how obesity might lead to loss of brain tissue. But researchers say obesity increases the risk of diabetes and high blood pressure, both of which can cause damage that may lead to brain atrophy.

Researchers say the study shows that obesity may be a risk factor for dementia in women.

"Obesity is another factor that should be actively intervened upon to reduce diseases of advanced aging," says researcher Deborah Gustafson, PhD, of Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Göteborg, Sweden, and also the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, in a news release.

Obesity May Increase Dementia Risks

In the study, which appears in the Nov. 23 issue of Neurology, researchers followed a group of 290 women who were born between 1908 and 1922. All of the women had four follow-up exams between 1968 and 1992.

At the last exam, when the women were aged 70 to 84, they had a computed tomography (CT) scan to measure for any brain atrophy.

Researchers compared the results of the CT scan to the women's body mass index (BMI, a measure of weight in relation to height) and found that being overweight or obese increased the risk of brain loss in the region of the brain known as the temporal lobe, which plays an important role in language, memory, and hearing.

A BMI between 25 and 30 is considered overweight and a BMI over 30 is considered obese.

The study showed that women with brain atrophy had, on average, a BMI that was 1.1 to 1.5 points higher than women without brain atrophy.

Overall, the women's BMI increased during the 24-year study period, but the increase was greater among those with evidence of brain tissue loss.

In addition, researchers found the risk of brain atrophy increased 13% to 16% per each increase in the women's BMI.

"This study indicates that a high BMI is a risk factor for dementia in women. Other studies have reported similar findings," says Gustafson.

Researchers say more studies are needed to explain the link between obesity and brain atrophy and dementia, but the results show that protecting your brain might be one more reason to reach and maintain a healthy weight.

SOURCES: Gustafson, D. Neurology, Nov. 23, 2004; vol 63: pp 1876-1881. News release, American Academy of Neurology.

[Dodger]

Obesity linked to dementia in women

14:23 23 November 04 NewScientist.com news service

Women who are obese for many years are more likely to suffer brain cell loss linked to dementia, according to new research.

The Swedish team followed 290 women over 24 years and found that women who were obese during this period were much more likely than slim women to show brain atrophy - the abnormal loss of neurons - by the end of the study.

Deborah Gustafson and colleagues at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden measured the body mass index (BMI) of the women between 1968 and 1992. On their final visit the women – then aged between 70 and 84 – also underwent CT scans of their brains.

The researchers found that almost half of the women showed brain cell death in the temporal lobes in 1992 and on average these women had a higher BMI – their height in metres, squared, divided by their weight in kilograms – than those who showed no brain cell loss. Brain shrinkage in this area is associated with Alzheimer’s disease and loss of cognitive function.

Temporal lobe shrinkage

The women who were obese throughout the study – having a BMI of 30m2/kg or greater – were much more likely to have suffered loss of brain tissue, even when other factors such as diabetes and lifestyle factors were taken into account. The researchers calculated that every 1 to 1.5 point increase in BMI was associated with a 13% to 15% increase in risk of temporal lobe shrinkage.

“BMI appears to be an independent predictor of brain cell loss in later life, and I would suggest that obesity is a risk factor in dementia,” Gustafson says. She says that previous studies have linked a rise in BMI with severity of lesions in the white matter of the brain.

“We can’t tell from this study whether obesity leads to brain cell death or if loss of brain cells in the temporal lobe, which contains the hypothalamus – the area of the brain that is important in controlling appetite – may lead to obesity,” Gustafson admits.

“But we do know that obesity contributes to vascular problems which can lead to neuronal death and a higher dementia risk,” she told New Scientist. “And obesity may increase the secretion of cortisol, which could also lead to brain cell atrophy.”

A spokesperson from the UK’s National Obesity Forum says that obesity has a damaging effect on every part of the body and that the areas of the brain analysed in the study were particularly susceptible to obesity-induced microvascular damage.

Journal reference: Neurology (vol 63, p 1876)

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996708