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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Weight loss as women get older may be a sign of dementia.
A new study from the Mayo Clinic shows women who have dementia start losing weight at least 10 years before they are diagnosed with the disease.
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Researchers compared data from the records of 481 dementia patients to those of 481 people without the disease. They find the average weight was the same for participants in both groups from 21 to 30 years before the year the disease was diagnosed. But women who later developed dementia began losing weight 11 to 20 years before the diagnosis. Women with dementia weighed 12 pounds less on average the year they were diagnosed than women without the disease.
"One explanation for the weight loss is that, in the very early stages of dementia, people develop apathy, a loss of initiative, and also losses in the sense of smell," study author David Knopman, M.D., Mayo Clinic, was quoted as saying. "When you can't smell your food, it won't have much taste, and you might be less inclined to eat it. And, apathy and loss of initiative may make women less likely to prepare nutritious meals and more likely to skip meals altogether."
But the study found men who later developed dementia did not lose weight during the years before diagnosis. Knopman says that may be due to hormones, but it could also be that middle-aged and elderly men are less likely to be preparing their own meals which would lessen the effect of apathy, loss of initiative, and loss of sense of smell.
The study conflicts with previous research that suggests obesity in middle-age may be a risk factor for dementia. Knopman says more research is needed to look into the differences.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: Neurology, 2007;69:739-746
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