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May 7, 2008Obesity linked to increased risk for dementia |
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From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Obesity may increase adults' risk for having dementia, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "Our analysis of the data shows a clear association between obesity and an increased risk for dementia and several clinical subtypes of the disease," said Youfa Wang, MD, PhD, senior author of the study and associate professor with the Bloomberg School's Center for Human Nutrition. Wang adds, "Preventing or treating obesity at a younger age could play a major role in reducing the number of dementia patients and those with other commonly associated illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease by up to 20 percent in the United States." Lead researcher May A. Beydoun, along with Wang and H.A. Beydoun attribute these findings to a systematic review of 10 previously published studies that examined the relationships between dementia or its subtypes and various measures of body fat. Based on a pooled analysis of their findings from 7 of the studies, baseline obesity compared to normal weight increased the risk of Alzheimer's disease by 80 percent on average. The studies cited in the meta-analysis were conducted in a number of countries, including the United States, Finland, Sweden and France, and contained middle-aged and older adults. The most common form is Alzheimer's disease, with an estimated 5 million adults living with the disease in the United States alone. While more studies are needed to determine optimal weight and biological mechanisms associated with obesity and dementia, these findings could potentially decrease the number of people diagnosed with dementia and lead to an overall better quality of life," said May A. Beydoun, a former postdoctoral research fellow at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
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