2019/01/10 by Mark Hamer, G. David Batty · 1 voice · 1 citation
Medicine · Neuroscience · #Bariatric Surgery and Outcomes #Neurological and metabolic disorders #Regulation of Appetite and Obesity
paper · doi:10.1212/wnl.0000000000006879
openalex publication_date 2019/01/10 · openalex created_date 2019/01/25 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
<h3>Objective</h3> To examine the association of body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) with brain volume. <h3>Methods</h3> We used cross-sectional data from the UK Biobank study (n = 9,652, age 55.4 ± 7.5 years, 47.9% men). Measures included BMI, WHR, and total fat mass as ascertained from bioimpedance. Brain images were produced with structural MRI. <h3>Results</h3> After adjustment for a range of covariates, higher levels of all obesity measures were related to lower gray matter volume: BMI per 1 SD (β coefficient −4,113, 95% confidence interval [CI] −4,862 to −3,364), WHR (β coefficient −4,272, 95% CI −5,280 to −3,264), and fat mass (β coefficient −4,590, 95% CI −5,386 to −3,793). The combination of overall obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m<sup>2</sup>) and central obesity (WHR >0.85 for women, >0.90 for men) was associated with the lowest gray matter compared with that in lean adults. In hypothesis-free testing with a Bonferroni correction, obesity was also related to various regional brain volumes, including caudate, putamen, pallidum, and nucleus accumbens. No associations between obesity and white matter were apparent. <h3>Conclusion</h3> The combination of heightened BMI and WHR may be an important risk factor for gray matter atrophy.