People who are obese or overweight at middle age are at significantly greater risk for dementia in later life than normal-weight people, reported Rachel A. Whitmer, Ph.D., of the division of research, Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, Calif.
The investigators prospectively followed 10,276 people enrolled in the Kaiser Permanente medical program of northern California who were 40–45 years old between 1964 and 1973. At midlife, 10% were obese (BMI of 30 kg/m
From January 1994 to April 2003, people who were obese at midlife had a 74% greater risk of dementia, compared with people who had been of normal weight, while overweight people had a 35% greater risk.
In women, the corresponding increases were 107% for obesity and 55% for overweight; no significant differences were found in men.
People in the highest quintile of subscapular skinfold at midlife had a 72% increased risk of dementia, while people in the highest quintile of tricep skinfold had a 59% increased risk of dementia, compared with people in the lowest fifth of the two measures, Dr. Whitmer reported in the April 29 online edition of the British Medical Journal.