Is body mass index in old age related to cognitive abilities? The Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 Study.

AbstractBody mass index (BMI) is associated with cognitive abilities, but the nature of the relationship remains largely unexplored. We aimed to investigate the bidirectional relationship from midlife through late-life, while considering sex differences and genetic predisposition to higher BMI. We used data from 23,892 individuals of European ancestry from the Health and Retirement Study, with longitudinal data on BMI and three established cognitive indices: mental status, episodic memory, and their sum, called total cognition. To investigate the dynamic relationship between BMI and cognitive abilities, we applied dual change score models of change from age 50 through 89, with a breakpoint at age 65 or 70. Models were further stratified by sex and genetic predisposition to higher BMI using tertiles of a polygenic score for BMI (PGSBMI). We demonstrated bidirectional effects between BMI and all three cognitive indices, with higher BMI contributing to steeper decline in cognitive abilities in both midlife and late-life, and higher cognitive abilities contributing to less decline in BMI in late-life. The effects of BMI on change in cognitive abilities were more evident in men compared to women, and among those in the lowest tertile of the PGSBMI compared to those in the highest tertile, while the effects of cognition on BMI were similar across groups. In conclusion, these findings highlight a reciprocal relationship between BMI and cognitive abilities, indicating that the negative effects of a higher BMI persist from midlife through late-life, and that weight-loss in late-life may be driven by cognitive decline.

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Weight and Body Mass Index in Old Age: Do They Still Matter?

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society ◽

10.1111/jgs.14952 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 65 (9) ◽

pp. 1898-1899 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Tamara B. Harris

Keyword(s):

Body Mass Index ◽

Old Age ◽

Body Mass

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Heritability of Longitudinal Measures of Body Mass Index and Lipid and Lipoprotein Levels in Aging Twins

Twin Research and Human Genetics ◽

10.1375/twin.10.5.703 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 703-711 ◽

Cited By ~ 52

Author(s):

Ellen L. Goode ◽

Stacey S. Cherny ◽

Joe C. Christian ◽

Gail P. Jarvik ◽

Mariza de Andrade

Keyword(s):

Body Mass Index ◽

Body Mass ◽

Genetic Factors ◽

Significant Proportion ◽

Lipoprotein Cholesterol ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Shared Environment ◽

Significant Contributor ◽

Age Related ◽

Over Time

AbstractBody-mass index (BMI), total cholesterol (TC), lowdensity lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and triglyceride (TG) levels are known to be highly heritable. We evaluated the genetic and environmental relationships of these measures over time in an analysis of twin pairs. Monozygotic (235 pairs) and dizygotic (260 pairs) male twins were participants in the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Veteran Twin Study, and were followed with three clinical exams from mean age 48 years to mean age 63 years. Structural equation modeling (SEM) with adjustment forAPOEgenotype (a significant contributor to TC and LDL-C) was used to assess longitudinal patterns of heritability. Results indicated a contribution of genetic factors to BMI, TC, LDL-C, HLD-C, and TG. Modest increases over time were observed in the heritability of BMI (from 0.48 to 0.61), TC (from 0.46 to 0.57), LDL-C (from 0.49 to 0.64), and HDL-C (from 0.50 to 0.62), but this trend was not present for TG. There was a corresponding decrease in shared environmental influences over time for these traits, although shared environment was a significant contributor only for HDL-C. Moreover, we observed that genetic influences for all measures were significantly correlated over time, and we found no evidence of age-specific genetic effects. In summary, longitudinal analyses of twin data indicate that genetic factors do not account for a significant proportion of the variation in age-related changes of BMI or lipid and lipoprotein levels.

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Maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index explains infant's weight and BMI at 14 months: results from a multi-ethnic birth cohort study

Archives of Disease in Childhood ◽

10.1136/adc.2008.137737 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 94 (8) ◽

pp. 587-595 ◽

Cited By ~ 36

Author(s):

I Mesman ◽

T J Roseboom ◽

G J Bonsel ◽

R J Gemke ◽

M F van der Wal ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Mass Index ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Birth Cohort ◽

Body Mass ◽

Birth Cohort Study

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Life course body mass index and risk of knee osteoarthritis at the age of 53 years: evidence from the 1946 British birth cohort study

Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases ◽

10.1136/ard.2011.154021 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 71 (5) ◽

pp. 655-660 ◽

Cited By ~ 63

Author(s):

Andrew K Wills ◽

Stephanie Black ◽

Rachel Cooper ◽

Russell J Coppack ◽

Rebecca Hardy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Mass Index ◽

Knee Osteoarthritis ◽

Birth Cohort ◽

Body Mass ◽

Prolonged Exposure ◽

Birth Cohort Study ◽

Activity Levels ◽

Z Score ◽

Knee Oa ◽

High Bmi

IntroductionThe authors examined how body mass index (BMI) across life is linked to the risk of midlife knee osteoarthritis (OA), testing whether prolonged exposure to high BMI or high BMI at a particular period has the greatest influence on the risk of knee OA.MethodsA population-based British birth cohort of 3035 men and women underwent clinical examination for knee OA at age 53 years.Heights and weights were measured 10 times from 2 to 53 years. Analyses were stratified by gender and adjusted for occupation and activity levels.ResultsThe prevalence of knee OA was higher in women than in men (12.9% (n=194) vs 7.4% (n=108)). In men, the association between BMI and later knee OA was evident at 20 years (p=0.038) and remained until 53 years (OR per z-score 1.38 (95% CI 1.11 to 1.71)). In women, there was evidence for an association at 15 years (p=0.003); at 53 years, the OR was 1.89 (95% CI 1.59 to 2.24) per z-score increase in BMI. Changes in BMI from childhood in women and from adolescence in men were also positively associated with knee OA. A structured modelling approach to disentange the way in which BMI is linked to knee OA suggested that prolonged exposure to high BMI throughout adulthood carried the highest risk and that there was no additional risk conferred from adolescence once adult BMI had been accounted for.ConclusionThis study suggests that the risk of knee OA accumulates from exposure to a high BMI through adulthood.

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CFH gene variant, Y402H, and smoking, body mass index, environmental associations with advanced age-related macular degeneration

American Journal of Ophthalmology ◽

10.1016/j.ajo.2006.11.013 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 143 (1) ◽

pp. 197-198

Author(s):

J.M. Seddon ◽

S. George ◽

B. Rosner ◽

M.L. Klein

Keyword(s):

Body Mass Index ◽

Macular Degeneration ◽

Body Mass ◽

Age Related Macular Degeneration ◽

Advanced Age ◽

Gene Variant ◽

Age Related

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Longitudinal Associations Between Loneliness and Cognitive Ability in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936

The Journals of Gerontology Series B ◽

10.1093/geronb/gby086 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 74 (8) ◽

pp. 1376-1386 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Judith A Okely ◽

Ian J Deary

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Ability ◽

Birth Cohort ◽

Processing Speed ◽

Verbal Memory ◽

Cognitive Abilities ◽

Birth Cohort Study ◽

Visuospatial Ability ◽

Lothian Birth Cohort ◽

Longitudinal Associations ◽

Reciprocal Associations

Abstract Objectives Loneliness is associated with poorer cognitive function in old age; however, the direction of this association is unknown. We tested for reciprocal associations between loneliness and the cognitive ability domains of processing speed, visuospatial ability, verbal memory, and crystallized ability. Method We used three triennial waves of longitudinal data from the Lothian Birth Cohort Study 1936, and tested for cross-lagged associations between loneliness and cognitive abilities using cross-lagged panel models. Results Better processing speed, visuospatial ability, or crystallized ability at age 73, was associated with less positive changes in loneliness between ages 73 and 76; however, these associations were not replicated between ages 76 and 79. Loneliness at ages 73 and 76 did not predict subsequent changes in cognitive abilities. Discussion Our findings indicate an association between cognitive ability and loneliness, such that individuals with lower cognitive abilities at age 73 may be at a slightly higher risk of becoming lonely. However, we did not find support for the hypothesis that loneliness causes a decline in cognitive health.

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