07/23/2025
Emerging magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) research suggests that abdominal fat in midlife may have a significant impact on cognitive decline.
For the study, recently published in JAMA Network Open, researchers reviewed brain MRI data, cognitive testing, diet quality measurements with the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI)-2010 score in 512 participants and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) measurements in 664 participants. The study authors noted that AHEI-2010 scores were obtained three times over an 11-year period, and WHR measurements were obtained five times over a 21-year period. Cognitive testing and brain MRI scans were obtained at a mean age of 70, according to the study.
The researchers found that participants with a higher WHR in midlife correlated to findings of higher mean diffusivity in 26.4 percent of white matter in the cingulum and the superior and inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF). Additionally, the study authors noted radial diffusivity in 23.1 percent of the aforementioned white matter tracts for those with higher midlife WHR, and lower fractional anisotropy (FA) in the corticospinal tract, including the cingulum and ILF.
“These findings are in line with those of cross-sectional studies showing associations between higher WHR and lower FA in several white matter tracts, including the corpus callosum and ILF in older adultsand cingulum in middle-aged adults. The ILF and cingulum are known to be implicated in Alzheimer disease, and our results suggest that these tracts may be especially relevant for WHR-related alterations in axonal and myelin integrity,” wrote lead study author Daria E.A. Jensen, DPhil, who is affiliated with the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brian Sciences in Leipzig, Germany, and colleagues.
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