Dynapenic abdominal obesity is associated with long-term cognitive trajectories and mild cognitive impairment

Dynapenic abdominal obesity (D/AO) is defined as the combination of decreased handgrip strength and high waist circumference. It is necessary to explore its combined effect on long-term changes in cognitive function to identify those who could benefit most from neurocognitive preventive strategies.

Longitudinal data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS, 2015-2020) was used, including 6698 individuals aged 45 years and over. Participants were divided into nondynapenic nonabdominal obesity (ND/NAO), nondynapenic abdominal obesity (ND/AO), dynapenic nonabdominal obesity (D/NAO), and D/AO, based on the sex-specific grip strength and waist circumference. Group-based trajectory modeling (GBTM) was adopted to identify the potential heterogeneity of longitudinal changes over the past 6 years, and logistic regression was used to explore the association of baseline D/AO with trajectories of cognitive function and the occurrence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Three trajectories were identified in results: lower cognition group, moderate cognition group and higher cognition group. D/NAO and D/AO were associated with the lower cognition (D/NAO: OR = 1.51, 95% CI: 1.01-2.27; D/AO: OR = 1.90, 95% CI: 1.19-3.04). Participants in D/NAO and D/AO had a higher risk of changing from healthy to MCI (D/NAO: OR = 1.52, 95% CI: 1.06-2.19; D/AO: OR = 1.61, 95% CI: 1.07-2.42).

D/AO is associated with long-term lower cognition and MCI in middle-aged and older patients, making it a potentially valuable tool for early intervention in dementia prevention.