Premium
Relationship between normal weight obesity and mild cognitive impairment is reflected in cognitive‐related genes in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells
Author(s) -
Zhang Shishuang,
Zhao Minghui,
Wang Feng,
Liu Juan,
Zheng Hui,
Lei Ping
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
psychogeriatrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.647
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 1479-8301
pISSN - 1346-3500
DOI - 10.1111/psyg.12452
Subject(s) - obesity , medicine , odds ratio , peripheral blood mononuclear cell , endocrinology , cognition , montreal cognitive assessment , risk factor , body mass index , disease , dementia , biology , psychiatry , genetics , in vitro
Aim Obesity contributes to the development of mild cognitive impairment, but the potential role of normal weight obesity in this disease has not been explored in humans. The aim of the study was to reveal the relationship between normal weight obesity and mild cognitive impairment in elderly individuals. Methods This study consisted of 360 patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment and 360 cognitively normal controls. Normal weight obesity was defined as having metabolic syndrome but a normal weight. Metabolic health meant having no metabolic syndrome. Reverse transcription quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction was adopted to measure the messenger RNA expression of four cognitive‐related genes (amyloid precursor protein, cyclic adenosine monophosphate‐responsive element‐binding protein 1, sortilin‐related receptor 1, and synapsin I) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Results Normal weight obesity was related to a higher risk of amnestic mild cognitive impairment (odds ratio = 3.14, 95% confidence interval: 2.13–4.60). In the patients, the expression of each gene in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells was linearly related to Mini‐Mental State Examination and Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores ( P < 0.05). The expression of these genes in the patients with metabolic health deviated from the normal levels found in the controls ( P < 0.05), and the deviations were more significant in the patients with normal weight obesity ( P < 0.05). Conclusion Normal weight obesity may be a potential risk factor for amnestic mild cognitive impairment in elderly. This relationship was reflected in the abnormal expression of several cognitive‐related genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells.