Home › Research › Getting a diagnosis
A 32-year prospective study of change in body weight and incident dementia: the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study
Stewart R, Masaki K, Xue QL, Peila R, Petrovitch H, White LR, Launer LJ.. Archives of neurology, 2005-01-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
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.
Key findings
- Background The course of weight loss associated with dementia is unclear, particularly prior to and around the onset of the clinical syndrome.
- Participants Of 1890 men (aged 77-98 years), 112 with incident dementia were compared with 1778 without dementia at the sixth examination (1997-1999).
- 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).
- 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.
Why it matters
In this 32-year study of Japanese American men, weight change from mid to late life did not differ between those with and without dementia, but in the final 6 years men with incident dementia had an additional yearly weight loss of 0.36 kg. This describes weight loss around the time of dementia onset and does not treat, cure, or prevent Alzheimer's disease.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Getting a diagnosis →
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 51/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Archives of neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Archives of Neurology: journal h-index 353 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2005 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 478 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 20.8 citations a year over 23 year(s) since 2005 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 13.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 4 / 6 | Cited by 35 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 24 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Lenore J. Launer: h-index 180 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | National Institutes of Health: institution h-index 2,723 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 15642850) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 51 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
May need a subscription OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 6 Feb 1020), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record names 7 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Stewart, R., Masaki, K., Xue, Q. L., Peila, R., Petrovitch, H., White, L. R., et al. (2005). A 32-year prospective study of change in body weight and incident dementia: the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study. Archives of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1001/archneur.62.1.55
Vancouver
Stewart R, Masaki K, Xue QL, Peila R, Petrovitch H, White LR, et al. A 32-year prospective study of change in body weight and incident dementia: the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study. Archives of neurology. 2005. doi:10.1001/archneur.62.1.55. PMID: 15642850.
BibTeX
@article{stewart2005-15642850,
author = {Stewart, R. and Masaki, K. and Xue, Q. L. and Peila, R. and Petrovitch, H. and White, L. R. and Launer, L. J.},
title = {{A 32-year prospective study of change in body weight and incident dementia: the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study}},
journal = {Archives of neurology},
year = {2005},
doi = {10.1001/archneur.62.1.55},
pmid = {15642850},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1001/archneur.62.1.55}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.
Later studies that cite this one
35 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references. Showing the 8 highest-scoring.