The Association between Obesity and Cognitive Function in Otherwise Healthy Premenopausal Arab Women.

Abdulaziz Farooq,Ann-Marie Gibson,John J Reilly,Nadia Gaoua

doi:10.1155/2018/1741962

Abdulaziz Farooq, Ann-Marie Gibson + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/1741962

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Abstract

Objective To examine the association between obesity and cognitive function in healthy premenopausal women. Methods From a cohort of 220 women, 98 were randomly selected that provided complete data. Body composition was examined by dual-energy X-ray scan. All participants completed the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) to assess cognitive performance in three domains: attention, memory, and planning executive function. The Reaction Time (RTI) test was used to assess motor and mental response speeds; the Stockings of Cambridge (SOC) test was used to assess planning executive function. For memory assessment, the Delayed Match to Sample (DMS), Pattern Recognition Memory (PRM), and Spatial Span (SSP) tests were used to assess forced choice recognition memory, visual pattern recognition memory, and working memory capacity, respectively. Results 36 (36.7%) were morbidly obese, 22 (22.4%) obese, and 23 (23.5%) overweight. Performance on RTI and SOC planning ability were not associated with body mass index (BMI). DMS mean time to correct response, when stimulus is visible or immediately hidden (0 ms delay), was higher by 785 ± 302 ms (milliseconds) (p=0.011) and 587 ± 259 ms (p=0.026) in morbidly obese women compared to normal weight women. Memory span length was significantly lower in overweight (5.5 ± 1.3, p=0.008) and obese women (5.6 ± 1.6, p=0.007) compared to normal weight (6.7 ± 0.9). DEXA-assessed body fat (%) showed similar associations as BMI, and latency to correct response on DMS and PRM was positively correlated with percentage of body fat, but not with VO2 max. Conclusion In otherwise healthy premenopausal women, obesity did not impact accuracy on cognitive tasks related to attention, memory, or planning executive function, but morbid obesity was associated with higher latency to correct response on memory-specific tasks and lower memory span length.

Highlights

Cognitive function is a construct that represents an individual’s ability to attain information and knowledge with constant application of memory, attention, and language skills [1]
It was approved by the Institutional Research Ethics Committee, and all participants provided written consent prior to participation. e participants with diabetes mellitus, those who were pregnant or postmenopausal, or those receiving medical treatment for any chronic disease were excluded from the study; the only inclusion criterion was any willing healthy premenopausal women aged 18–50 years. e participants were clinically screened and excluded for the presence of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, or pregnancy
The accuracy on the memory tasks Delayed Match to Sample (DMS) and Pattern Recognition Memory (PRM) was higher than 85% and comparable in all BMI categories, the time intervals for correct response expressed as mean correct latency in both DMS and PRM (p 0.044) were significantly higher in the morbidly obese groups compared to normal participants. e memory span length on the Spatial Span (SSP) test was significantly lower among overweight and morbidly obese women compared to women with normal body mass index (p 0.011)

Summary

Introduction

Cognitive function is a construct that represents an individual’s ability to attain information and knowledge with constant application of memory, attention, and language skills [1]. While obesity is a well-known public health concern that leads to dyslipidemia, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, there is limited research examining how it may influence cognitive function; several hypotheses have been put forward. Ese are pathophysiological changes with regard to vascular changes, insulin resistance, inflammation, reduced body fitness especially cardiovascular, and so on [2, 3]. Lower body mass index (BMI) rather than higher BMI was found to be associated with increased incidence of dementia, especially in elderly people [4,5,6,7,8]. In midlife, the abovementioned findings were reversed; higher BMI was associated with increased incidence of dementia [9,10,11].

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