Having too much body fat can have long-lasting effects on the brain (not to mention other organs). A new study shows that the risk of declining brain health may be related to where in the body fat is stored.
A study in late January by researchers at Xuzhou Medical University (China) analyzed MRI scans of 25,997 individuals from a UK health database, with an average age of 55 years.
Using a statistical method called latent profile analysis (LPA), participants were grouped into six groups based on patterns of body fat distribution, and then their brain scans and cognitive test results were compared.
Compared to leaner individuals, all five groups with different body fat distributions had lower brain volumes and less gray matter.
“The work took advantage of MRI’s ability to quantify fat in various compartments of the body, especially internal organs, to create a data-driven rather than subjective classification system,” the study’s corresponding author and radiologist at the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University explained to . Kai Liu.
“Data-driven classification unexpectedly uncovered two previously undefined types of fat distribution that deserve greater attention,” he added.
Researchers have designated these distribution types as:
- “pancreatic predominant” – higher than normal levels of fat around the pancreas);
- “lean-fat” – dense areas of fat around certain organs, despite a fairly average BMI.
Both profiles were associated with increased risk of gray matter decline, white matter lesions, accelerated brain aging and cognitive decline. They also presented a increased risk of neurological disease (a broad category that includes conditions such as anxiety, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and stroke).
It is important to note that the association with accelerated brain aging was observed more clearly in menwhile the higher risk of epilepsy (caused by disturbances in the electrical activity of the brain) was predominantly linked to the predominant pancreatic profile in women.
