Dramatic Weight Loss Marks Dementia Onset

People who go through an accelerated weight loss process when in their late adulthood or early seniority are very likely to develop Alzheimer's disease or dementia one year later or even earlier. According to a recent study conducted by researchers at the Washington University, people who have the same body weight as their free-of-dementia-risk counterparts when adults experience dramatic weight loss at the end of their midlife or when elders. "At midlife, participants who will eventually have dementia weigh as much as their peers without dementia. At late midlife or early late life, these individuals begin to lose weight at faster rates, and by six years before dementia detection, participants who will eventually develop dementia are six to eight pounds lighter on average."

The team involved in the study noted that the key-factors which bring about the weight-loss process in people who become further prone to developing dementia have not been detected yet. But a dramatic reduction in the BMI (body mass index) would eventually lead to the decline of the mental abilities and cognitive function, wrote Washington University scientists in their report published in the Archives of Neurology:

"Specific factors contributing to weight loss are unknown, but these data suggest they operate before the development of dementia of Alzheimer's type. Hence, weight loss may be a preclinical indicator of Alzheimer disease."

The trial involved 449 subjects who were all healthy at the beginning of the study. Over time, participants in the study were found to lose approximately the same amount of weight yearly, as they were growing older. But researchers noted that a part of the participants in the study started to dramatically lose weight at some point in time and then, about one year after the event, they showed signs and symptoms of dementia.

"The present study shows that at least one year before dementia detection, the rate of weight loss again increases. Thus, weight loss associated with dementia of the Alzheimer's type probably begins very early in the course of the disease and then accelerates in the one to two years before the onset of cognitive symptoms," concluded study leader David K. Johnson, Ph.D., and his colleagues.