Association between Chinese visceral adiposity index and cognitive trajectory: A nationally representative...

The relationship between obesity and cognitive function has received substantial attention. As a novel fat assessment indicator developed for the Chinese population, the Chinese visceral adiposity index (CVAI) has an unclear association with cognitive function change trajectories. This study aims to explore the impact of CVAI on cognitive function trajectories. Data were derived from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. CVAI was measured at baseline (2011), which was calculated based on age, body mass index, waist circumference, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol to assess the degree of visceral fat accumulation. The primary outcome was global cognitive function, and participants were followed up until 2018 with a total of 4 follow-ups and a median follow-up duration of 7.0 years. Group-based trajectory modeling was used to analyze the trajectory of changes in cognitive function, and multinomial logistic regression was applied to assess the longitudinal association between CVAI and cognitive trajectory categories. In addition, subgroup analyses were performed by age, sex, and residence. A total of 5409 participants were included, with a median age of 57 years. There were 2863 females (52.9%) and 2546 males (47.1%). The analysis of global cognitive function identified 3 trajectory groups: the low cognitive function group (n = 796), the moderate cognitive function group (n = 2003), and the high cognitive function group (n = 2610). After adjusting for confounding factors, compared with the low cognitive trajectory group, participants in the highest quartile of CVAI were more likely to belong to the high cognitive trajectory group (odds ratio = 1.46, 95% confidence interval = 1.26-1.68) and the moderate cognitive trajectory group (odds ratio = 1.20, 95% confidence interval = 1.05-1.36). Subgroup analyses revealed that this association was more pronounced among participants aged <65 years, males, and rural residents. Higher levels of CVAI are associated with better cognitive function trajectories in middle-aged and elderly Chinese populations, suggesting that CVAI may have a protective effect on cognitive function.