An adverse association of higher BMI with cognitive function began in adolescence and was restricted to low childhood socioeconomic position.
Highlights
- A high body mass index in adolescence affects brain function later in midlife.
- Low economic position during childhood had an influence in the adverse effect on the cognitive function.
- Taller stature in both sexes and late growth in women were associated with better midlife cognitive performance.
“Importantly, this study shows that an impact of obesity on cognitive function in midlife may already begin in adolescence, independently of changes in BMI over the adult life course," said the paper's senior author, Prof. Jeremy Kark of the Hebrew University-Hadassah Braun School of Public Health and Community Medicine.
"Our results also show that taller stature was associated with better global cognitive function, independent of childhood and adult socioeconomic position, and that height increase in late adolescence, reflecting late growth, conferred a protective effect, but among women only," added Irit Cohen-Manheim, doctoral candidate at the Braun School and lead author.
The researchers point out that while socioeconomic position may have a particularly important role in the trajectory of a person's lifetime cognitive function, it has rarely been adequately taken into account.
Prof. Kark said, "Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that childhood living conditions, as reflected also by height, influence cognitive function later in life; however, our study is unique in showing that an adverse association of higher BMI with cognitive function appears to begin in adolescence and that it appears to be restricted to adults with lower childhood socioeconomic position.”
Reference
- Prof. Jeremy Kark et al., Body Mass Index, Height, and Socioeconomic Position in Adolescence, Their Trajectories into Adulthood, and Cognitive Function in Midlife , Journal of Alzheimer's Disease (2016), http://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-alzheimers-disease/jad160843.