The relationship between visceral adiposity and cognitive performance in older adults.

BACKGROUND a direct association between visceral adiposity on abdominal computed tomography (CT) and cognitive performance has not been reported. OBJECTIVES to investigate the associations between total and regional adiposity measured with abdominal CT, and cognitive performance in elderly persons and to explore their modification by age. DESIGN cross-sectional study. SETTING a health promotion centre of a tertiary university hospital. SUBJECTS two-hundred and fifty individuals aged 60 years and above who underwent anthropometric measurements, abdominal CT and cognitive testing. METHODS adiposity measures included body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and visceral and subcutaneous adiposity by abdominal CT. Poor cognitive performance was defined as Mini-Mental State Examination score being at or below 1 SD of age, sex and education-normative values. RESULTS in multivariate logistic regression analyses obesity [odds ratio (OR) 2.61, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.21-6.01, P=0.015] and being in the top tertile of the visceral adiposity area (OR: 2.58, 95% CI=1.001-6.62, P=0.045) were associated with poor cognitive performance in subjects younger than 70 years, but not in those 70 years and older. CONCLUSION high adiposity, particularly visceral adiposity, was associated with poor cognitive functioning in younger elderly persons.