Late-Life Body Mass Index and Waist Circumference in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Chu, Leung-Wing^{a; b; c; *} | Tam, Sidney^{b; d} | Lee, Peter W.H.^e | Yik, Ping-Yiu^a | Song, Youqiang^{c; f} | Cheung, Bernard M.Y.^{b; g; h} | Lam, Karen S.L.^{b; c; i}

Affiliations: [a] Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine, Queen Mary Hospital, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR | [b] Research Centre of Heart, Brain, Hormone & Healthy Aging, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR | [c] Alzheimer's Disease Research Network, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR | [d] Division of Clinical Biochemistry, Queen Mary Hospital, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR | [e] Clinical Psychology Department and Department of Psychiatry, Queen Mary Hospital, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR | [f] Department of Biochemistry, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR | [g] Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Medicine, Queen Mary Hospital, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR | [h] Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Division of Medical Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK | [i] Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Queen Mary Hospital, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Dr. Leung-Wing Chu, Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine, Queen Mary Hospital, the University of Hong Kong, 102 Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR. Tel.: +852 2855 3315; Fax: +852 2974 1171; E-mail: lwchu@hkucc.hku.hk.

Abstract: We investigated the progressive associations of late-life body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) in Chinese older adults in a case-control study. Late-life BMI and WC were measured. AD was diagnosed by the NINCDS-ADRDA criteria for probable AD and aMCI by the Petersen's criteria. 426 Chinese older adults [125 AD, 125 aMCI and 176 controls with normal cognition (NC)], aged 55 to 93 years old, were recruited. Both BMI and WC decreased significantly across the normal, aMCI, and AD groups (dementia diagnostic group: p for trend < 0.001 and 0.016 respectively, 1-way ANOVA). After adjustment for significant confounders, multivariate general linear model analyses showed that the dementia diagnostic group (AD/aMCI/NC) was a significant independent predictor of both the late-life BMI and late-life WC (p = 0.002 and 0.018 respectively). In conclusion, late-life BMI and WC progressively decrease in older adults with normal cognition, aMCI, and AD. Low late-life BMI and WC represent potentially useful pre-clinical markers of aMCI and AD.

Keywords: Aging, Alzheimer's disease, body mass index, Chinese, mild cognitive impairment

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-2009-1043

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 223-232, 2009