Dementia It is one of the main public health problems in the elderly population. According to estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO), currently about 50 million people worldwide suffer from dementia, and this number is expected to increase dramatically in the coming decades, reaching more than 130 million prevalent cases by 2050 [1]. Despite advances in research and understanding of the causes of dementia, the therapies available to date are mainly aimed at slowing its progress and managing symptoms.
In the area of dementia prevention, a new study [2] conducted by researchers at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and Peking Union Medical College in Beijing has shown how different patterns of change in body mass index (BMI) over the course of life can be an indicator of a person’s risk of dementia.
The study, which was conducted through the well-known Framingham Heart Study, followed for 39 years a sample of 2045 participants without a diagnosis of dementia initially aged between 30 and 50 years, measuring their weight approximately every 2-4 years.Analyzing the trajectories of the study participants, the researchers found that the subgroup characterized by an initial increase in BMI, followed by a decline by middle age, was the subgroup with the greatest risk of developing dementia (HR 3.84; 95% confidence interval 1.39-10.60).
«This study seems to reconcile studies that have shown a direct relationship between overweight in adulthood and the development of dementia and other studies that have instead found an inverse relationship between overweight in later age (over 70 years) and development of dementia, even if the risk of confusing an early marker with a cause is always present» says Mauro Tettamanti, head of the Geriatric Epidemiology laboratory at the Mario Blacks Institute for Pharmacological Research in Milan.
This research underscores the importance of monitoring risk indicators such as weight change, as they can offer opportunities for early interventions and potentially change disease progression.The study sins of important limitations (first of all the number of subjects who develop dementia, which is small), which force us to interpret the results with caution. However, from a preventive point of view it is quite useful because it is easy for individuals, family members and general practitioners to monitor weight: according to what emerged from this study, if during middle age there is an unexpected shift towards weight loss after a previous constant weight gain, it may be advisable to consult a doctor for any investigations.
«Pending confirmation of what is highlighted in the article, since we are still without pharmacological therapies able to counteract the development and course of dementia, we can say that eating correctly can have a beneficial effect on one’s cognitive health (as well as in other fields, such as cardiovascular), to other behaviors such as performing moderate physical activity, keep the mind active and continue to have social relationships.In order to have a definitive confirmation, an intervention study would be decisive, but the times connected to this type of comparisons are extremely long» underlined Tettamanti.
More studies are needed to fully understand the complex relationship between weight and dementia, but this new research also suggests that maintaining a healthy weight throughout life is an important means of reducing the risk of cognitive decline in geriatric age.
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Source — https://www.univadis.it/viewarticle/le-variazioni-di-peso-sono-un-indice-di-rischio-la-demenza-2023a1000017