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Visceral fat is associated with lower brain volume in healthy middle-aged adults
Debette S, Beiser A, Hoffmann U, Decarli C, O'Donnell CJ, Massaro JM, Au R, Himali JJ et al.. Annals of neurology, 2010-08-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Objective Midlife obesity has been associated with an increased risk of dementia. The underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Our aim was to examine the cross-sectional association of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and computed tomography (CT)-based measurements of subcutaneous (SAT) and visceral (VAT) adipose tissue with various magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) markers of brain aging in middle-aged community adults. Methods Participants from the Framingham Offspring cohort were eligible if in addition to having measurements of BMI, WC, WHR, SAT, and VAT, they had undergone a volumetric brain MRI scan with measurements of total brain volume (TCBV), temporal horn volume (THV), white matter hyperintensity volume (WMHV), and MRI-defined brain infarcts (BI). All analyses were adjusted for age, sex, and time interval between abdominal CT and brain MRI. Results In a sample of 733 community participants (mean age, 60 years; 53% women), we observed an inverse association of BMI (estimate by standard deviation unit +/- standard error = -0.27 +/- 0.12; p = 0.02), WC (-0.30 +/- 0.12; p = 0.01), WHR (-0.37 +/- 0.12; p = 0.02), SAT (-0.23 +/- 0.11; p = 0.04), and VAT (-0.36 +/- 0.12; p = 0.002) with TCBV, independent of vascular risk factors. The association between VAT and TCBV was the strongest and most robust, and was also independent of BMI (-0.35 +/- 0.15; p = 0.02) and insulin resistance (-0.32 +/- 0.13; p = 0.01). When adjusting for C-reactive protein levels, the associations were attenuated (-0.17 +/- 0.13; p = 0.17 for VAT). No consistently significant association was observed between the anthropometric or CT-based abdominal fat measurements and THV, WMHV, or BI. Interpretation In middle-aged community participants, we observed a significant inverse association of anthropometric and CT-based measurements of abdominal, especially visceral, fat with total brain volume.
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APA 7th
Debette, S., Beiser, A., Hoffmann, U., Decarli, C., O'Donnell, C. J., Massaro, J. M., et al. (2010). Visceral fat is associated with lower brain volume in healthy middle-aged adults. Annals of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.22062
Vancouver
Debette S, Beiser A, Hoffmann U, Decarli C, O'Donnell CJ, Massaro JM, et al. Visceral fat is associated with lower brain volume in healthy middle-aged adults. Annals of neurology. 2010. doi:10.1002/ana.22062. PMID: 20695006.
BibTeX
@article{debette2010-20695006,
author = {Debette, S. and Beiser, A. and Hoffmann, U. and Decarli, C. and O'Donnell, C. J. and Massaro, J. M. and Au, R. and Himali, J. J. and others},
title = {{Visceral fat is associated with lower brain volume in healthy middle-aged adults}},
journal = {Annals of neurology},
year = {2010},
doi = {10.1002/ana.22062},
pmid = {20695006},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.22062}
}
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Key findings
- Objective Midlife obesity has been associated with an increased risk of dementia.
- Results In a sample of 733 community participants (mean age, 60 years; 53% women), we observed an inverse association of BMI (estimate by standard deviation unit +/- standard error = -0.27 +/- 0.12; p = 0.02), WC (-0.30 +/- 0.12; p = 0.01), WHR (-0.37 +/- 0.12; p = 0.02), SAT (-0.23 +/- 0.11; p = 0.04), and VAT (-0.36 +/- 0.12; p = 0.002) with TCBV, independent of vascular risk factors.
- No consistently significant association was observed between the anthropometric or CT-based abdominal fat measurements and THV, WMHV, or BI.
- Interpretation In middle-aged community participants, we observed a significant inverse association of anthropometric and CT-based measurements of abdominal, especially visceral, fat with total brain volume.
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Study details
- Study designcross-sectional
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 50/100
Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a snapshot of people at one point in time. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 29 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 50 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Annals of neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 4 / 12 | A snapshot of people at one point in time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2010 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| 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 | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 20695006) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 29 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 29 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 50 out of 100. |
| Total | 50 / 100 | — |
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