BMJ  2005;331:455 (20 August), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7514.455

Letter

Obesity in middle age and future risk of dementia

Midlife obesity increases risk of future dementia

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—Whitmer et al reported a prospective study showing that obesity in middle age was associated with increased risk of future dementia.1 However, little information was given on the types of dementia. This is important especially in Alzheimer's disease, in which vascular risk factors might contribute to its development.2 We have investigated the relation between Alzheimer's disease and obesity throughout adult life in a small case-control study.

We recruited 25 patients with probable Alzheimer's disease from the Launceston Memory Disorders Clinic, Tasmania, and 50 controls from the local community. Patients were living at home and were physically well, with no important medical problems. Current height, weight, and waist circumference were measured. In addition, we asked participants to recall their weight at the age of 20-25 and 40-45. Self reported weight has been shown to be highly correlated with direct measurement in cognitively healthy people and those with mild to . . . [Full text of this article]

George Razay, senior lecturer in geriatric medicine and director of research

george.razay@dhhs.tas.gov.au
Launceston General Hospital, Launceston, Tasmania 7250, Australia

Anthea Vreugdenhil, research coordinator

Launceston General Hospital, Launceston, Tasmania 7250, Australia


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Relevant Article

Obesity in middle age and future risk of dementia: a 27 year longitudinal population based study
Rachel A Whitmer, Erica P Gunderson, Elizabeth Barrett-Connor, Charles P Quesenberry, Jr, and Kristine Yaffe
BMJ 2005 330: 1360. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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