Researchers at Rutgers Health have identified that abdominal fat’s detrimental effects on brain health and cognitive abilities tend to be more significant in middle-aged men at elevated risk of Alzheimer’s disease compared to women. This distinction is particularly noted among individuals who have a familial history of Alzheimer’s disease. The study, which focused on the correlation between fat accumulation in abdominal organs (such as the pancreas, liver, and abdominal fat) and its relation to brain volumes and cognitive performance, was published in Obesity. Authored by Sapir Golan Shekhtman, a PhD candidate at the Joseph Sagol Neuroscience Center at the Sheba Medical Center in Israel, under the guidance of Michal Schnaider Beeri, who is the director of the Herbert and Jacqueline Krieger Klein Alzheimer’s Research Center at Rutgers Brain Health Institute, this research sheds new light on the impact of body fat on brain health.
The study encompassed 204 healthy middle-aged offspring of individuals with Alzheimer’s dementia, examining fat stores in the pancreas, liver, and abdomen using MRI scans. The findings underscored a significant sex-specific link, particularly in males at high risk for Alzheimer’s disease. In these individuals, an increase in pancreatic fat was correlated with diminished cognitive abilities and reduced brain volumes, suggesting a distinct connection between specific types of abdominal fat and brain health, which varies by sex.
Obesity is acknowledged as a factor that exacerbates the risk of cognitive decline and heightens the likelihood of dementia, with varying implications across different genders. This research emphasizes the critical need to delve into the complex relationships among different fat stores, the ageing process of the brain, and cognitive functions, considering the variations between sexes.
Furthermore, the study challenges the traditional reliance on Body Mass Index (BMI) as the sole metric for gauging obesity-related cognitive hazards. The authors critique BMI for its inadequate representation of body fat distribution and its failure to recognize sex-specific differences in assessing cognitive risk factors. According to Shekhtman, the correlation between abdominal fat stores and cognitive functions is more pronounced than between BMI and cognition, pointing to abdominal fat as a more accurate predictor of cognitive decline and increased dementia risk.
The findings from this study pave the way for developing targeted intervention strategies and promote further research into gender-specific treatments aimed at mitigating the adverse effects of abdominal fat on brain health. Shekhtman highlights the potential for these insights to inform new approaches in understanding and addressing the influence of abdominal fat on the brain, emphasizing the importance of considering sex differences in future research and treatment methodologies.
More information: Sapir Golan Shekhtman et al, Abdominal fat depots are related to lower cognitive functioning and brain volumes in middle-aged males at high Alzheimer’s risk, Obesity. DOI: 10.1002/oby.24004
Journal information: Obesity Provided by Rutgers University
