Key result
High visceral fat area is linked to ~90% higher odds of white matter lesions.
Why the study?
Visceral fat is an established cardiovascular risk factor and may be relevant to dementia prevention, but its association with cognitive function and brain structural abnormalities in the elderly remains unknown.
Is high visceral fat area associated with lower cognitive function and brain structural abnormalities in healthy elderly individuals?
Cross-Sectional (n=2,364)
No
Is high visceral fat area associated with lower cognitive function and brain structural abnormalities in healthy elderly individuals?
Higher visceral fat accumulation in healthy elderly individuals is associated with lower cognitive function and increased brain structural abnormalities such as white matter lesions.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
High visceral fat associated with cognitive impairment and white matter lesions in elderly; leaves open causality and need for prospective trials.
Visceral fat accumulation is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease and mortality. Visceral fat is a causal risk factor for hypertension and type 2 diabetes, which was reported as one of the risk factors for dementia. Visceral fat areas (VFA) might be clinically important to prevent dementia; however, the association between VFA and cognitive function in the elderly remains unknown. We aimed to evaluate the association between brain structural abnormalities using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and VFA, and the association between cognitive function and VFA, in the elderly. A total of 2364 healthy individuals were enrolled, and we excluded those diagnosed with dementia. Participants were divided into a high-VFA and a low-VFA group based on median VFA. The high-VFA group had significantly lower cognitive function than the low-VFA group (p = 0.025), after adjustment for related factors using a linear regression model. Regarding brain structure in MRI, VFA remained significantly associated with white matter lesions (odds ratio (OR), 1.90; 95% confidence interval (1.33–2.70); adjusted p < 0.001) and perivascular space (OR, 1.28; 95% confidence interval (1.02–1.61); adjusted p = 0.033). Further follow-up studies are needed, but reducing visceral fat might be important, not only to prevent cardiovascular disease but also to prevent dementia.
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Ozato et al. (2021) conducted a cross-sectional in Healthy elderly individuals (n=2,364). High visceral fat area vs. Low visceral fat area was evaluated on White matter lesions (OR 1.90, 95% CI 1.33-2.70, p=<0.001). High visceral fat area was associated with increased odds of white matter lesions and lower cognitive function compared to low visceral fat area in elderly adults.
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