Truncal Fat and Frailty Are Important Predictors of Cognitive Performance among Aging Adults with Obesity.

Objectives: To explore associations among cognition, frailty, and obesity in older adults.
Design: Descriptive, secondary analysis of baseline data from two related lifestyle intervention trials.
Setting: Clinical study open to civilian population through the Center for Translational Research on Inflammatory Diseases at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Houston, TX.
Participants: One hundred eight community-dwelling adults with obesity, aged 65 or older, recruited consecutively from two lifestyle intervention trials.
Measurements: Cognition was assessed using Composite Age-Adjusted Scale Score from the National Institutes of Health Toolbox Cognition Battery: Obesity was assessed by body mass index (BMI) and also by truncal fat mas via dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. Frailty was assessed using the Physical Performance Test.
Results: A significant linear regression model for cognition revealed frailty as the strongest predictor, followed by sex, and then truncal fat (R2=0.340, p<0.001).
Conclusion: Cognition among community-dwelling older adults with obese BMI may worsen with greater truncal fat mass. Frailty appears to be an important predictor of cognitive performance in this population.
Competing Interests: Dr. Kunik is an unpaid member of the board of the Houston and Southeast Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, and he performs guardianship evaluation for the county probate court. Dr. Villareal is on the Clinical Trials Advisory Panel (CTAP) for the NIH-National Institute on Aging (NIA) and Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) for several NIH-supported clinical trials. The other authors have nothing to disclose.