In middle-aged men at high risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD), higher pancreatic fat is linked to lower cognition and brain volumes.
- Obesity is a well-known risk factor for poorer cognition and dementia, but the distribution of body fat may influence the risk and underlying mechanisms in the fat-brain-cognition pathway.
- The study examined associations of several abdominal fat depots with cognitive functioning and AD-related brain volumes.
- The study sample included 204 men and women from the Israel Registry for Alzheimer's Prevention (mean age, 59 years; 60% women) who had a high AD risk due to parental family history.
- Abdominal MRI scans assessed fat stored as subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) beneath the skin, visceral adipose tissue (VAT) around abdominal organs, and ectopic, a harmful condition in which lipids accumulate in lean tissues such as the liver and pancreas.
- A structural volumetric brain MRI scan was undertaken by 142 participants to assess specific regions implicated in chosen previous research.
