Abdominal fat depots can impact brain health and cognition in individuals at high risk for Alzheimer’s disease

Rutgers Health researchers say the effects of belly fat on brain health and cognition are more pronounced in middle-aged men, who are generally at higher risk for Alzheimer’s disease than women.

In middle-aged individuals with a family history of Alzheimer’s disease, the amount of fat in abdominal organs (pancreas, liver, abdominal fat) has been reported to be associated with brain volume and cognitive function. research has been published in diary obesity. This study was written by Dr. Sapir Golan Shechtman. student at the Joseph Sagol Center for Neuroscience at Sheba Medical Center in Israel and directed by Michal Schneider Behri, director of the Herbert and Jacqueline Krieger Klein Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at the Rutgers Brain Health Research Institute.

The study was conducted in 204 healthy middle-aged Alzheimer’s dementia offspring and examined fat accumulation in the pancreas, liver, and abdomen as measured by MRI.

“In middle-aged men at high risk for Alzheimer’s disease, increased pancreatic fat is associated with lower cognition and brain volume, and there may be a sex-specific link between distinct abdominal fat and brain health.” “It suggests sex,” Dr. Beer said. He is the Krieger-Klein Endowed Chair in Neurodegeneration Research at BHI and a faculty member in the Rutgers Health Research Institute, Health Policy and Aging Research.

Obesity is a risk factor for cognitive decline and increased risk of dementia, with associations varying by gender.

The findings highlight the importance of investigating the interrelationships between adiposity, brain aging, and cognition in the context of gender differences.

Additionally, this study challenges the traditional use of body mass index (BMI) as the primary measure for assessing obesity-related cognitive risk. The researchers said BMI is a poor indicator of body fat distribution and does not necessarily explain gender differences.

“Our findings show a stronger correlation than that between BMI and cognition, suggesting that abdominal fat accumulation, rather than BMI, is a risk factor for cognitive decline and increased risk of dementia. ,” Shechtman said.

These findings open new avenues for further exploration of targeted interventions and gender-specific approaches to understanding and mitigating the effects of abdominal fat on brain health, Schechtman said. Stated.