Weight Change and Cognitive Function: Findings From the Women's Health Initiative Study of Cognitive Aging
Year: 2011
Type: article
Abstract: Although studies exploring relationships between obesity and cognitive impairment in the elderly are conflicting, literature suggests that overweight and obesity may be protective against cognitive impairment and dementia in older women. We examine the associations between changes in weight and waist circumference (WC) with global and domain-specific cognitive function in a large, well-defined cohort of 2,283 older, postmenopausal women (aged 65-79) prospectively followed through the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) Study of Cognitive Aging (WHISCA). We assessed the associations between changes in weight and WC collected up to 5 years before WHISCA enrollment and mean levels of global and domain-specific cognitive performance across an average of 5.4 years of subsequent follow-up. There was a lack of associations between weight and cognition in women who remained stable or gained weight. The only significant relationships observed were in association with weight loss (P ≤ 0.05), most likely signaling incipient disease. Moreover, cognition was not related to changes in WC. Relationships were largely independent of initial BMI, self-reported caloric intake or dieting. The lack of associations between weight gain and cognition in women is consistent with the existing literature.
Source: Obesity
DOI: 10.1038/oby.2011.23
Authors: Ira Driscoll, Mark A. Espeland, Sylvia Wassertheil‐Smoller, Sarah A. Gaussoin, Jingzhong Ding, Iris A. Granek, Judith K. Ockene, Lawrence S. Phillips, Kristine Yaffe, Susan M. Resnick, For the Women's Health Initiative Study of Cognitive Aging
Institutions: National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging, Wake Forest University Health Sciences, Wake Forest University, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Stony Brook University, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Emory University, University of California, San Francisco
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: CLIN CTR FOR THE CLIN TRIAL & OBSERVATIONAL STUDY OF WHI, Women's Health Initiative, Women's Health Initiative, Women's Health Initiative, G1286168924, Women's Health Initiative, Women's Health Initiative, CLIN CTR CLIN TRIAL/OBSERVATIONAL STUDY OF WHI, Women's Health Initiative, G152626716, Women's Health Initiative, G1623571357, Women's Health Initiative, Women's Health Initiative, G181468914, Women's Health Initiative, G1890884830, G211028185, CLIN CTR CLIN TRIAL/OBSERVATIONAL STUDY OF WHI, Women's Health Initiative, G2182082016, CLIN CTR CLIN TRIAL/OBSERVATIONAL STUDY OF WHI, Women's Health Initiative, G2768409618, ALZHEIMERS RESEARCH PROJECT: Women's Health Initiative Memory Study Extension: Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia, Cognitive Decline and Resilience, G300426088, G3053443584, G306350359, G3290335435, G3337978133, Women's Health Initiative Memory Study (WHIMS), G3404453056, Women's Health Initiative, G3658685098, G3696348274, G3823113078, G3916577102, Women's Health Initiative, G4002295999, Women's Health Initiative, Women's Health Initiative, G413560588, COORDINATING CENTER FOR WOMEN'S HEALTH INITIATIVE, G429396632, G4355687608, G445374210, Women's Health Initiative, Women's Health Initiative, Women's Health Initiative, Neuroimaging Predictors Of Cognitive Change And Response To Therapy, G5238945333, FOR ALL FIELD CENTER FOR WHI EXTENSION, Women's Health Initiative, Women's Health Initiative, G5611709376, Women's Health Initiative, G5959015892, G5965015984, G6522987136, G6730395537, Women's Health Initiative, Women's Health Initiative, Women's Health Initiative, G6893458194, G6918431099, Women's Health Initiative, G7223985928, Women's Health Initiative, G7422186829, G7423759087, Women's Health Initiative, CLIN CTR CLIN TRIAL/OBSERVATIONAL STUDY OF WHI, G7572166205, G7739768352, Women's Health Initiative, CLINICAL CENTER FOR THE CLINICAL TRIAL & OBSERVATIONAL STUDY OF WHI, G8226798419, G857724489, G8606667874, G8898275213, G8913509553, G8948924723, G9000072420, Women's Health Initiative, G985928507
OpenAlex ID: W1997815102