A recent study revealed that obesity may accelerate the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
Scientists discovered that blood markers associated with Alzheimer’s increased nearly twice as fast in people with obesity in contrast to those without the condition.
The findings were presented Monday at the Radiological Society of North America’s annual meeting in Chicago.
“This is the first time we’ve shown the relationship between obesity and Alzheimer’s disease using blood biomarker tests,” according to the senior researcher Dr. Cyrus Raji of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
The study tracked five years of data from over 400 participants enrolled in an ongoing Alzheimer’s imaging project.
Individuals suffering from obesity showed a spike in key biomarkers, including Tau proteins, Neurofilament light chain (NfL), and Glial fibrillary acidic protein.
Overall, tau levels spiked nearly 95% faster, while NfL surged 24% faster in obese participants.
Furthermore, scientists discovered that blood tests detected obesity-related changes more sensitively than PET scans, indicating a robust new tool for monitoring Alzheimer’s progression.
Lead researcher Dr. Soheil Mohammadi mentioned that obesity is one of the multiple modifiable risk factors that accounted for nearly 45% of Alzheimer’s risk.
Raji stated that these results could guide future studies exploring whether weight-loss treatments may slow Alzheimer’s biomarkers.
