Association Between Body Mass Index and Cognitive Function Among Older Adults in India: Findings from a Cross-Sectional Study

ABSTRACT

Objective

The study aimed to explore the association between body mass index (BMI) and cognitive function among older adults in India.

Methods

Cross-sectional data on 21,000 older adults aged 60 years and older from the first wave of the Longitudinal Ageing Study of India (LASI), conducted in India during 2017-18, were used. Bivariate analysis and multivariate linear regression models were applied. The cognition tests include memory, orientation, arithmetic function, executive function, and object naming.

Results

The mean overall cognition score was 24.6 in the study population. Further, BMI status showed a significant and positive association with cognition. The association of underweight with poor cognition (β=-0.72; 95% CI = −0.89, −0.54) whereas overweight (β = 0.57; 95% CI = 0.39, 0.75) and obese (β = 0.97; 95% CI = 0.68, 1.26) with better cognition remained statistically significant after adjusting for sociodemographic, health-related behavior, and health covariates. The mean cognition score of female older adults was always lower than male older adults with normal BMI, irrespective of their BMI categories.

Conclusions

This study shows that an underweight BMI is associated with poor cognition in both male and female older adults. In the context of providing health care for older individuals, underweight individuals should be given more attention in India.

Acknowledgments

The author is grateful to the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) for providing data on our request.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Abbreviations

BMI: body mass index; SC: Scheduled Caste; ST: Scheduled Tribe; OBC: Other Backward Class; CI: confidence interval; MPCE: monthly per capita consumption expenditure; ADL: activities of daily living; IADL: instrumental activities of daily living; SRH: self-rated health; CSED: Centre of Epidemiologic Studies-Depression.

Ethics Approval

The authorities that conducted the survey for the data collection have taken informed consent from the respondents before the survey. All study procedures were carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines, regulations, and ethical standards of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and all partner institutions.

Data Availability Statement

The LASI Wave-1 data was collected by the nodal institution International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai on behalf of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. The LASI Wave-1 data are publicly available to the researchers and policymakers upon formal request to the International Institute for Population Sciences for access (link to the data request document https://iipsindia.ac.in/sites/default/files/LASI_DataRequestForm_0.pdf).

Supplemental data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/0361073X.2023.2171686.

Additional information

Funding

The authors received no specific funding for this work.