Association of waist-calf circumference ratio with incident cognitive impairment in older adults

Abstract

Background: The longitudinal relation of central fat and muscle mass with cognitive function remains unclear. Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the relation of anthropometric measures, including BMI, waist circumference (WC), calf circumference (CC), and waist-calf circumference ratio (WCR), with incident cognitive impairment in older adults. Methods: A total of 3312 participants aged ≥65 y (mean: 81.8 y) who were free of cognitive impairment [the Chinese version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores ≥24 points] in the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey were included. The primary outcome was incident cognitive impairment, defined as MMSE scores <24 points at the exit visit. Secondary outcomes were incident cognitive decline, defined as a reduction of MMSE scores ≥3 points at the exit visit, and incident decline in different cognitive domains, defined as a reduction of MMSE scores in the domain ≥15% at the exit visit. Results: During a median follow-up duration of 3.6 y, 565 (17.1%) participants developed incident cognitive impairment. Overall, with mutual adjustments, higher WC [≥89 cm (fourth quartile) compared with <75 cm (first quartile); adjusted HR: 1.56; 95% CI: 1.19, 2.04] and higher WCR [≥2.9 (fourth quartile) compared with <2.4 (first quartile); adjusted HR: 1.96; 95% CI: 1.52, 2.52] were significantly associated with a higher risk of cognitive impairment, and higher CC [≥34 cm (fourth quartile) compared with <28 cm (first quartile); adjusted HR: 0.44; 95% CI: 0.33, 0.59] was associated with a lower hazard of cognitive impairment. Similar results were found for the secondary outcomes. However, BMI was not significantly associated with the study outcomes. Conclusions: High WC and low CC were significantly associated with higher incident cognitive impairment in older adults. Moreover, WCR had a relatively stronger association with cognitive impairment compared with each circumference, suggesting maintaining both higher lean mass and lower central fat in older adults for the prevention of cognitive impairment.