Regional adiposity, particularly visceral fat, was associated with distinct patterns of brain aging independent of BMI, which mediated negative impacts on cognitive performance.
Cross-Sectional (n=23,088)
Sí
Does regional adiposity affect brain morphology, functional connectivity, and cognitive function in adults?
Regional adiposity, particularly visceral fat, is associated with distinct patterns of accelerated brain aging and cognitive decline independent of BMI.
Body mass index (BMI) is commonly used to assess obesity, but it fails to capture the complexities of regional adiposity, which can have varying effects on brain health. This study analyzed data from over 18,000 UK Biobank participants to investigate the relationship between regional adiposity, measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and brain health, evaluated through multimodal brain imaging and cognitive tests. Adiposity in the arm, leg, trunk and visceral regions was differentially associated with brain morphology, functional connectivity and white-matter integrity in the sensorimotor, limbic, default mode and subcortical–cerebellar–brainstem systems. The aging of these four brain systems was indexed by brain age gap (BAG), with cortical-related BAGs (sensorimotor, limbic, default mode) mediating relationships between visceral adiposity and cognitive performance in reasoning, executive function, processing speed and memory. These results highlight the importance of considering regional adiposity, beyond BMI, in characterizing its associations with brain and cognitive aging. In this large-scale study, the authors used multimodal neuroimaging and cognitive data from UK Biobank participants to examine the relationship between regional adiposity and brain health.
Zhang et al. (Mon,) conducted a cross-sectional in Healthy adults (n=23,088). Regional adiposity (arm, leg, trunk, and visceral fat) vs. Body mass index (BMI) was evaluated on Associations between regional adiposity and brain morphology, functional connectivity, and white-matter microstructure. Regional adiposity, particularly visceral fat, was associated with distinct patterns of brain aging independent of BMI, which mediated negative impacts on cognitive performance.