Association Between Intra-Abdominal Fat and Brain Structural Changes or Cognitive Function

• Published in: Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) Md.), 2022-11, Vol.30, p.61-61
• Main Authors: Ozato, Naoki, Yamaguchi, Tohru, Saitou, Shinnichiro, Nakaji, Shigeyuki, Katashima, Mitsuhiro, Jung, Songee, Mori, Kenta, Kawada, Hiromitsu, Katsuragi, Yoshihisa, Mikami, Tatsuya
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abdomen; Cognitive ability; Confidence intervals; Dementia; Diabetes; Hypertension; Magnetic resonance imaging; Mortality; Risk factors
• ISSN: 1930-7381; 1930-739X

Background: Intra-abdominal fat (IAF) is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disorders and mortality. IAF is a causal risk factor for type 2 diabetes and hypertension, which was reported to be risk factors for dementia. IAF might be clinically important to prevent dementia; however, the association between IAF and cognitive function in the elderly remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the association between brain structural abnormalities using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and IAF, and the association between cognitive function and IAF, in the elderly. Intra-abdominal fat (IAF) is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disorders and mortality. IAF is a causal risk factor for type 2 diabetes and hypertension, which was reported to be risk factors for dementia. IAF might be clinically important to prevent dementia; however, the association between IAF and cognitive function in the elderly remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the association between brain structural abnormalities using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and IAF, and the association between cognitive function and IAF, in the elderly. Methods: A total of 2364 healthy individuals were enrolled, and those diagnosed with dementia were excluded. Results: Based on median IAF, subjects were divided into a high-IAF and a low-IAF group. The high-IAF group had significantly lower cognitive function compared with the low- IAF group (p = 0.025), after adjustment for related factors using a linear regression model. Regarding brain structure, IAF remained significantly and positively 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). Regarding insulin, IAF was significantly and positively associated with insulin (R = 0.42 and p