Associations Between Abdominal Obesity, Chewing Difficulty and Cognitive Impairment in Dementia-Free Chinese Elderly

To investigate the independent and synergistic associations between abdominal obesity, chewing difficulty and cognitive impairment in a community-dwelling older adults sample in China.

Cognitive function was measured by the 5 min- Montreal Cognitive Assessment (5 min-MoCA) and abdominal obesity was measured by A Body Shape Index (ABSI) in 572 participants recruited from local communities. Chewing difficulty was assessed via a self-report questionnaire. Linear regression and general logistic regression were performed to investigate the association of chewing difficulty and abdominal obesity with cognition.

Chewing difficulty score [β (95% CI) = -.30 (-.49, -.11)] and ABSI [β (95%CI) = -.30 (-.55, -.05)] were independently associated with worse performance on the 5 min-MoCA. Whilst ABSI was not associated with cognitive impairment, the co-existence of chewing difficulty and abdominal obesity [OR (95% CI) = 2.22 (1.18, 4.17)] was found associated with the presence of cognitive impairment.

Chewing difficulty and abdominal obesity were independently associated with cognition. Abdominal obesity and chewing may have an additive effect on cognitive function.