Science

E.D. Vidoni, PT, PhD; R.A. Townley, BS; R.A. Honea, DPhil; J.M. Burns, MD, MS

Objective: Both low and high body mass index (BMI) has been associated with cognitive impairment and dementia risk, including Alzheimer disease (AD). We examined the relationship of BMI with potential underlying biological substrates for cognitive impairment.
Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional data from participants enrolled in the Alzheimer’s Dis- ease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) with PET imaging using Pittsburgh Compound B (PiB, n=101) or CSF analyses (n=405) for beta-amyloid peptide and total tau. We assessed the relationship of CSF biomarkers and global PiB uptake with BMI using linear regression controlling for age and sex. We also assessed BMI differences between those who were and were not considered biomarker positive. Finally, we assessed BMI change over 2 years in relationship to AD biomarkers.
Conclusions: The presence and burden of in vivo biomarkers of cerebral amyloid and tau are associated with lower BMI in cognitively normal and MCI individuals. This supports previous findings of systemic change in the earliest phases of the disease. Further, MCI in those who are overweight may be more likely to result from heterogeneous pathophysiology.