Dementia preceded by reduced weight?

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

Dementia is preceded by reduced weight?

http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/health/feeds/hscout/2005/01/10/hscout5

23323.html

The pdf-available is below, but I suggest it may be a question of

does the chicken come first or the egg.

Those who later developed the brain pathologies were higher in BMI

in mid-life.

A 32-Year Prospective Study of Change in Body Weight and Incident

Dementia: The Honolulu-Asia Aging Study

; Kamal Masaki; Qian-Li Xue; Rita Peila; Helen

Petrovitch; Lon R. White; Lenore J. Launer

Arch Neurol. 2005;62:55-60.

Background The course of weight loss associated with dementia is

unclear, particularly prior to and around the onset of the clinical

syndrome.

Objective To compare the natural history of weight change from

mid to late life in men with and without dementia in late life.

Design and Setting The Honolulu-Asia Aging Study, a 32-year,

prospective, population-based study of Japanese American men who had

been weighed on 6 occasions between 1965 and 1999 and who had been

screened for dementia 3 times between 1991 and 1999.

Participants Of 1890 men (aged 77-98 years), 112 with incident

dementia were compared with 1778 without dementia at the sixth

examination (1997-1999).

Main Outcome Measure Weight change up to and including the sixth

examination was treated as the dependent variable and estimated using

a repeated measures analysis.

Results Groups with and without dementia did not differ with

respect to baseline weight or change in weight from mid to late life

(first 26 years' follow-up). In the late-life examinations (final 6

years), mean age- and education-adjusted weight loss was –0.22 kg/y

(95% confidence intervals, –0.26 to –0.18) in participants without

dementia. Men with incident dementia at the same examination had an

additional yearly weight loss of –0.36 kg (95% confidence interval, –

0.53 to –0.19). This was not changed substantially with adjustment

for risk factors for vascular disease or functional impairment and

was significant for both Alzheimer disease and vascular dementia

subtypes.

Conclusions Dementia-associated weight loss begins before the

onset of the clinical syndrome and accelerates by the time of

diagnosis. The potential impact on prognosis should be considered in

the case of elderly persons at risk for dementia.

Cheers, Al Pater.

[Guest guest]

Hi Al:

As for chickens and eggs: my bet is that in the early sub-clinical

stages of dementia the afflicted individual loses interest in many of

the activities non-afflicted individuals get out of life. Food may

be one of those things. So the weight loss may result from the loss

of interest in food.

If this is correct then a loss of interest in food might be an

important, early sub-clinical symptom, which would precede an obvious

loss of weight.

The only person I have met who had been diagnosed with alzheimer's

seemed to have lost pretty much all interest in anything.

Rodney.

--- In , " old542000 " <apater@m...>

wrote:

>

> Hi All,

>

> Dementia is preceded by reduced weight?

>

>

http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/health/feeds/hscout/2005/01/10/hscout5

> 23323.html

>

> The pdf-available is below, but I suggest it may be a question of

> does the chicken come first or the egg.

>

> Those who later developed the brain pathologies were higher in

BMI

> in mid-life.

>

> A 32-Year Prospective Study of Change in Body Weight and

Incident

> Dementia: The Honolulu-Asia Aging Study

> ; Kamal Masaki; Qian-Li Xue; Rita Peila; Helen

> Petrovitch; Lon R. White; Lenore J. Launer

> Arch Neurol. 2005;62:55-60.

> Background The course of weight loss associated with dementia

is

> unclear, particularly prior to and around the onset of the clinical

> syndrome.

> Objective To compare the natural history of weight change from

> mid to late life in men with and without dementia in late life.

> Design and Setting The Honolulu-Asia Aging Study, a 32-year,

> prospective, population-based study of Japanese American men who

had

> been weighed on 6 occasions between 1965 and 1999 and who had been

> screened for dementia 3 times between 1991 and 1999.

> Participants Of 1890 men (aged 77-98 years), 112 with incident

> dementia were compared with 1778 without dementia at the sixth

> examination (1997-1999).

> Main Outcome Measure Weight change up to and including the

sixth

> examination was treated as the dependent variable and estimated

using

> a repeated measures analysis.

> Results Groups with and without dementia did not differ with

> respect to baseline weight or change in weight from mid to late

life

> (first 26 years' follow-up). In the late-life examinations (final 6

> years), mean age- and education-adjusted weight loss was –0.22 kg/y

> (95% confidence intervals, –0.26 to –0.18) in participants without

> dementia. Men with incident dementia at the same examination had an

> additional yearly weight loss of –0.36 kg (95% confidence

interval, –

> 0.53 to –0.19). This was not changed substantially with adjustment

> for risk factors for vascular disease or functional impairment and

> was significant for both Alzheimer disease and vascular dementia

> subtypes.

> Conclusions Dementia-associated weight loss begins before the

> onset of the clinical syndrome and accelerates by the time of

> diagnosis. The potential impact on prognosis should be considered

in

> the case of elderly persons at risk for dementia.

>

> Cheers, Al Pater.