Health · Medical Research · 3 hrs ago
Higher Weight at Dementia Diagnosis Linked to Lower Risk of Death
A study of 4,523 U.S. adults found that people who were overweight or obese when diagnosed with dementia had a lower risk of death than people in the normal weight range.
The participants were at least 51 years old and developed dementia after entering the study without it.
Researchers used data collected from 1998 to 2022 to examine weight changes and survival.
The lower risk ranged from 16% for people who were overweight to 27% for those with class 1 obesity.
The findings differ from evidence that obesity in midlife raises the likelihood of developing dementia.
Weight loss can begin years before a dementia diagnosis, but the researchers said their analyses found little evidence that this or other major biases explained the survival difference.
The study does not establish why higher weight was linked to longer survival or show that extra weight causes it.
A large study found that people who were overweight or obese when diagnosed with dementia had a lower risk of death than people in the normal-weight range.
The analysis included 4,523 U.S. adults who developed dementia after entering the study without it.
Compared with people at normal weight, those who were overweight had a 16% lower risk of death.
The risk was 27% lower for people with class 1 obesity and 22% lower for those with class 2 or 3 obesity.
Researchers said they found little evidence that the major sources of bias they examined explained the association, but they could not determine why it occurred.
- Who
- Researchers analyzed 4,523 participants in the Health and Retirement Study, all of whom developed dementia.
- What
- The study found that higher weight at dementia diagnosis was associated with a lower risk of death.
- When
- The data covered 1998 to 2022; the findings were published on October 12, 2026.
- Where
- The participants were U.S. adults ages 51 and older.
- Why
- The researchers could not determine why higher weight was associated with lower mortality.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Researchers used data from the Health and Retirement Study to examine weight changes before dementia diagnosis and survival afterward.
SciTechDaily reported the study’s findings, which were published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
- Participants
- 4,523 people in the Health and Retirement Study
- Study population
- U.S. adults ages 51 and older who developed dementia
- Overweight
- 16% lower risk of death than people at normal weight
- Class 1 obesity
- 27% lower risk of death than people at normal weight
- Class 2 or 3 obesity
- 22% lower risk of death than people at normal weight
What people are saying
Because this finding is somewhat counterintuitive, an important question is whether it could simply be an artifact of bias. Our analyses suggest that the major sources of bias we examined do not explain the survival advantage associated with higher weight
Sources
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