NIH Radio
Study Links Loss of Body Mass to Increased Risk of Alzheimer's Disease
Brief Description:
A study supported by the National Institute on Aging reveals that the loss of body mass over time appears to be strongly linked to an older adult's risk of developing Alzheimer's Disease.
Transcript:
Schmalfeldt:A study supported by the National Institute on Aging reveals that the loss of body mass over time appears to be strongly linked to an older adult's risk of developing Alzheimer's Disease. The research, called the Religious Orders Study, was conducted on a group of Catholic nuns, priests and brothers nationwide. In the study, people who lost about a unit of Body Mass Index each year had a 35 percent greater risk of developing Alzheimer's than that of people with no change in their Body Mass Index. And those with no change had a 20 percent greater risk than those who gained six-tenths of a unit of BMI each year. Doctor Dallas Anderson, a program director with the NIA's Neuroscience and Neuropsychology of Aging Program, said more research is needed.
Anderson: In the future there will be neuropathological studies, and these will be looking for areas of the brain that might be affected by the Alzheimer's pathology that also would affect body mass loss.
Schmalfeldt:Based on this study and other evidence, researchers suggest that loss of body mass could be added to the relatively short list of signs doctors can use to predict a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's. For more information on participation in an Alzheimer's Disease clinical trial, visit www.clinicaltrials.gov. From the National Institutes of Health, I'm Bill Schmalfeldt in Bethesda, Maryland.
About This Audio Report
Date: 9/29/2005
Reporter: Bill Schmalfeldt
Sound Bite: Dr. Dallas Anderson
Topic: Alzheimer's Disease
Institute(s): NIA
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