Middle age weight loss may signal the start of dementia

LOSING weight as you get older could be an early warning sign that you are developing dementia.

Those who slim unintentionally between their forties and seventies may be at greater risk of problems with their memory and thought processes in later life, researchers said yesterday.

They suspect that dwindling appetite and weight loss in middle age – which are known as ‘anorexia of ageing’ – may be a precursor to dementia for some.

In a study of almost 2,000 people, US scientists found that a weight loss of 11lb (5kg) per decade corresponded to a 24 per cent increased risk of mild cognitive impairment, a condition that often leads to Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. The researchers said that weight loss in the middleaged could help to identify those at higher risk of being affected with dementia. Although they could not pinpoint the cause, they suspect that depression and apathy – which are known to be early symptoms of dementia – may cause people to lose weight years before they start displaying memory problems.

The team from the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota assessed 1,895 people aged at least 70 who had no signs of dementia. They then checked them again four years later, by which time 524 had developed mild cognitive impairment.

Looking at records of the participants’ height and weight between the ages of 40 and 65, they found that those who developed mild cognitive impairment had lost more weight per decade – an average of 4.4lb, compared with just 2.6lb among those who retained their cognitive ability.

The authors said they did not know whether the participants’ weight loss was intentional or unintended, but they added: ‘It is most likely unintentional weight loss.’

Writing in the journal JAMA Neurology, they said: ‘With regard to causal mechanisms, weight loss prior to cognitive impairment may be related to what has been termed “anorexia of ageing”.’

In the UK, 2.5million people are thought to have memory problems. Another 850,000 are thought to have dementia.

Dr Laura Phipps, of Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: ‘Weight loss may be the result of early damage in the brain from diseases like Alzheimer’s and could indicate an underlying problem, but... the study doesn’t tell us that losing weight causes dementia, or that putting on weight will prevent the condition.’