Korean J Fam Pract. 2018; 8(1): 118-124  https://doi.org/10.21215/kjfp.2018.8.1.118
Obesity and the Risk of Dementia: A Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies
Su-Jung Park1, Hae-Jin Ko1,*, Chang-Ho Youn1, A-Sol Kim2, Hana Moon2, Hyo-Jeong Eun1
1Department of Family Medicine, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, 2Department of Family Medicine, Kyungpook National University Medical Center, Daegu, Korea
Hae-Jin Ko
Tel: +82-53-200-5791, Fax: +82-53-200-5480
E-mail: liveforme@daum.net
ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4460-1476
Received: March 15, 2017; Accepted: April 26, 2017; Published online: February 20, 2018.
© The Korean Academy of Family Medicine. All rights reserved.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Background: Obesity and dementia are important public health issues. Several studies have reported that obesity may increase the risk of dementia, but this has not reached a consistent conclusion. To evaluate the effect of obesity on the risk of dementia, we performed a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.
Methods: We systematically searched relevant studies on PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and CINAHL, which were published until November 2016. We selected prospective cohort studies about mid-life or late-life obesity and dementia based on predetermined inclusion criteria. The adjusted hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were extracted from each study and analyzed using a random-effects model.
Results: A total of 12 studies were included in the final analysis. Compared to normal weight, mid-life or late-life obesity significantly increased the risk of dementia (HR 1.525, 95% CI 1.022–2.276; I2=93.108%, P＜0.001). In subgroup analysis, mid-life obesity increased the risk of dementia (HR 1.924, 95% CI 2.714–3.728), but late-life obesity did not show a significant result (HR 0.788, 95% CI 0.447–1.389). There were no significant differences in other subgroup analyses according to type of dementia and quality of studies. No apparent publication bias was found.
Conclusion: This study concludes that late-life and especially mid-life obesity is associated with the increased risk of dementia. It is important to control mid-life obesity to prevent late-life dementia.
Keywords: Overweight; Obesity; Dementia; Alzheimer Disease; Vascular Dementia
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