Stuffing the Belly Could Starve the Mind in Seniors

[Guest guest]

Overeating is associated with an increased risk of mild cognitive

impairment (MCI) in people 70 or older, researchers are reporting.

In a population-based, case-control study, people who consumed more than

2,142, kilocalories a day had nearly twice the risk of MCI as those eating

fewer than 1,526 kilocalories a day, according to Yonas Geda, MD, of the

Mayo Clinic in sdale, Ariz., and colleagues.

The researchers also observed a dose-response pattern. " The higher the

amount of calories consumed each day, the higher the risk of MCI, " Geda

said in a statement.

The full study is slated for presentation at the annual meeting of the

American Academy of Neurology (AAN) in New Orleans in April, but some data

were released early.

Geda and colleagues noted that dietary intake has been associated

previously with MCI, but the role of daily energy consumption has not been

clear.

Indeed, the study is " noteworthy " in that regard, according to Neelum

Aggarwal, MD, of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, who was not

part of the research team.

In an email to *MedPage Today*, Aggarwal, a member of the AAN, said the

findings might have clinical implications, as doctors and patients discuss

" the links between common healthy living practices [and] overall cognitive

function. "

The findings might also help the research agenda by highlighting possible

mechanisms for the onset of mental decline, he said.

People with MCI are not regarded as having dementia, but they have

cognitive deficits that appear to precede the development of such diseases

as Alzheimer's.

To understand the links between caloric intake and MCI, Geda and colleagues

turned to the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging, a continuing population-based

cohort study in Olmsted County, Minn.

They asked a random sample of 1,233 non-demented study participants, ages

70 through 89, to fill out a food frequency questionnaire for the year

preceding an interview.

The volunteers included 1,070 cognitively normal people and 163 with MCI,

as determined by an expert consensus panel on the basis of published

criteria.

The volunteers were divided into three groups, based on the caloric intake

derived from their questionnaire answers.

The reference group for subsequent analysis was participants who ate

between 600 and 1,526 kilocalories a day. The middle group ate from 1,526

to 2,142.5 kilocalories a day, while the third group ate 2,142.5 to 6,000

kilocalories a day.

Geda and colleagues conducted multivariable logistic regression analyses,

adjusting for age, sex, education, depression, apolipoprotein E (APOE)

genotype, history of stroke, coronary artery disease, diabetes, and body

mass index.

Compared with the reference group, those in the middle group had an

elevated risk of MCI, but it did not reach statistical significance (odds

ratio 1.05, 95% CI 0.63 to 1.77).

On the other hand, daily energy consumption in the third group was

associated with a greater chance of having MCI (OR 2.41, 95% CI 1.51 to

3.86).

There was also a significant trend (*P*<0.001) for increasing caloric

consumption to increase the risk of MCI, they reported.

One implication of the study might be that " cutting calories and eating

foods that make up a healthy diet may be a simpler way to prevent memory

loss as we age, " Geda said.

Aggarwal told *MedPage Today *the study includes a large number of

non-demented people from the general community in the U.S., which might

make the results relatively widely applicable.

However, some questions remain including:

- What sort of questionnaire was used and how it was administered and

interpreted?

- Was there an effect of male or female sex or race and ethnicity?

- Did the researchers distinguish between amnestic MCI, in which memory

is affected, and MCI in which other cognitive domains, such as orientation,

language, and executive function, are impaired?

The study was supported by the NIH, the Wood Foundation, and

the H. and Clarice and Abigail van Buren Alzheimer's Disease

Research Program.

The authors did not report any conflicts of interest in the AAN abstract.

*Primary source: *American Academy of Neurology

Source reference:

Geda Y, et al " Caloric intake, aging, and mild cognitive impairment: a

population-based study " *AAN* 2012.

--

Ortiz, MS, RD

The Frugal Dietitian <http://www.thefrugaldietitian.com>

Check out my blog: mixture of deals and nutrition

Join me on Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/TheFrugalDietitian?ref=ts>

Join me on Twitter <http://twitter.com/frugaldietitian>