TY - JOUR
T1 - Indirect effects of elevated body mass index on memory performance through altered cerebral metabolite concentrations
AU - Gonzales, Mitzi M.
AU - Tarumi, Takashi
AU - Eagan, Danielle E.
AU - Tanaka, Hirofumi
AU - Vaghasia, Miral
AU - Haley, Andreana P.
PY - 2012/9
Y1 - 2012/9
N2 - OBJECTIVE: Elevated body mass index (BMI) at midlife is associated with increased risk of cognitive decline in later life. The goal of the current study was to assess mechanisms of early brain vulnerability by examining if higher BMI at midlife affects current cognitive performance through alterations in cerebral neurochemistry. METHODS: Fifty-five participants, aged 40 to 60 years, underwent neuropsychological testing, health screen, and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy examining N-acetylaspartate, creatine (Cr), myo-inositol (mI), choline, and glutamate concentrations in occipitoparietal gray matter. Concentrations of N-acetylaspartate, choline, mI, and glutamate were calculated as a ratio over Cr and examined in relation to BMI using multivariate regression analyses. Structural equation modeling was used to determine if BMI had an indirect effect on cognition through cerebral metabolite levels. RESULTS: Higher BMI was associated with elevations in mI/Cr (F(5,45) = 3.843, p =.006, β = 0.444, p =.002), independent of age, sex, fasting glucose levels, and systolic blood pressure. Moreover, a χ difference test of the direct and indirect structural equation models revealed that BMI had an indirect effect on global cognitive performance (Δχ = 19.939, df = 2, p <.001). Subsequent follow-up analyses revealed that this effect was specific to memory (Δχ = 22.027, df = 2, p <.001). CONCLUSIONS: Higher BMI was associated with elevations in mI/Cr concentrations in the occipitoparietal gray matter and indirectly related to poorer memory performance through mI/Cr levels, potentially implicating plasma hypertonicity and neuroinflammation as mechanisms underlying obesity-related brain vulnerability.
AB - OBJECTIVE: Elevated body mass index (BMI) at midlife is associated with increased risk of cognitive decline in later life. The goal of the current study was to assess mechanisms of early brain vulnerability by examining if higher BMI at midlife affects current cognitive performance through alterations in cerebral neurochemistry. METHODS: Fifty-five participants, aged 40 to 60 years, underwent neuropsychological testing, health screen, and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy examining N-acetylaspartate, creatine (Cr), myo-inositol (mI), choline, and glutamate concentrations in occipitoparietal gray matter. Concentrations of N-acetylaspartate, choline, mI, and glutamate were calculated as a ratio over Cr and examined in relation to BMI using multivariate regression analyses. Structural equation modeling was used to determine if BMI had an indirect effect on cognition through cerebral metabolite levels. RESULTS: Higher BMI was associated with elevations in mI/Cr (F(5,45) = 3.843, p =.006, β = 0.444, p =.002), independent of age, sex, fasting glucose levels, and systolic blood pressure. Moreover, a χ difference test of the direct and indirect structural equation models revealed that BMI had an indirect effect on global cognitive performance (Δχ = 19.939, df = 2, p <.001). Subsequent follow-up analyses revealed that this effect was specific to memory (Δχ = 22.027, df = 2, p <.001). CONCLUSIONS: Higher BMI was associated with elevations in mI/Cr concentrations in the occipitoparietal gray matter and indirectly related to poorer memory performance through mI/Cr levels, potentially implicating plasma hypertonicity and neuroinflammation as mechanisms underlying obesity-related brain vulnerability.
KW - BMI
KW - myo-inositol
KW - obesity
KW - proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy
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U2 - 10.1097/PSY.0b013e31825ff1de
DO - 10.1097/PSY.0b013e31825ff1de
M3 - Article
C2 - 22822230
AN - SCOPUS:84866330453
SN - 0033-3174
VL - 74
SP - 691
EP - 698
JO - Psychosomatic Medicine
JF - Psychosomatic Medicine
IS - 7
ER -