Weight change in Alzheimer's disease

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Gerontology
• Metabolic Research

Background:

• Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder.
• Weight changes are frequently observed in individuals with AD, but their natural history and clinical significance are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the natural history of weight change in Alzheimer's disease (AD).
• To determine the occurrence of clinically significant weight loss in subjects with AD compared to cognitively normal controls.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal study involving subjects with AD (n=362) and cognitively normal controls (n=317) from the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD).
• Annual assessments over an average follow-up of >2 years, analyzing weight loss of ≥5%, percent weight change/year, maximum percent weight loss, and weight fluctuation (standard deviation).
• Multivariate analysis controlled for potential confounders of weight change.

Main Results:

• Subjects with AD were nearly twice as likely to experience ≥5% weight loss compared to controls.
• A diagnosis of AD was a significant predictor of ≥5% weight loss, maximum 1-year weight loss, and greater weight fluctuation.
• Severity of AD and functional status correlated with various measures of weight change.

Conclusions:

• Clinically significant weight loss is more common in patients with AD.
• Weight gain, acute weight loss, and weight fluctuations suggest impaired body weight regulation in AD.
• Further research is needed on the relationship between dementia severity, functional status, and weight changes in AD.