Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27562529›Full record

ArticleNeurobiology of aging2016

Obesity associated with increased brain age from midlife.

Lisa Ronan, Aaron F Alexander-Bloch, Konrad Wagstyl, Sadaf Farooqi, Carol Brayne, Lorraine K Tyler, Cam-CAN, Paul C Fletcher

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Neurobiology of aging, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 119 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
119citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

119 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Trial
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  6. Trial
  7. Effect of Ibuprofen on BrainAGE: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Dose-Response Exploratory Study.Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging · 2018
    Trial
  8. Article
  9. Observational
  10. Global Socioeconomic Context and Brain Ageing in Epilepsy: an ENIGMA-Epilepsy study.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026
    Article
  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
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  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Vital Role of Visceral Adipose Tissue in Maintaining Cognitive Functions.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025
    Review
  20. Article

59 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Lisa RonanBrain Mapping Unit, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, UK. Electronic address: lr344@cam.ac.uk.
Aaron F Alexander-BlochYale School of Medicine, Yale University, USA.
Konrad WagstylBrain Mapping Unit, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, UK.
Sadaf FarooqiDepartment of Clinical Biochemistry, Institute of Metabolic Sciences, Cambridge, UK.
Carol BrayneInstitute of Public Health, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Lorraine K TylerMRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge Center for Ageing and Neuroscience (Cam-CAN), Cambridge, UK.
Cam-CANMRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge Center for Ageing and Neuroscience (Cam-CAN), Cambridge, UK.
Paul C FletcherBrain Mapping Unit, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, UK.

Funding

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council BB/H008217/1Medical Research Council MC_U105597119Medical Research Council MC_UU_12012/5Wellcome Trust 093875Wellcome Trust RNAG/259
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Common mechanisms in aging and obesity are hypothesized to increase susceptibility to neurodegeneration, however, direct evidence in support of this hypothesis is lacking. We therefore performed a cross-sectional analysis of magnetic resonance image-based brain structure on a population-based cohort of healthy adults. Study participants were originally part of the Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience (Cam-CAN) and included 527 individuals aged 20-87 years. Cortical reconstruction techniques were used to generate measures of whole-brain cerebral white-matter volume, cortical thickness, and surface area. Results indicated that cerebral white-matter volume in overweight and obese individuals was associated with a greater degree of atrophy, with maximal effects in middle-age corresponding to an estimated increase of brain age of 10 years. There were no similar body mass index-related changes in cortical parameters. This study suggests that at a population level, obesity may increase the risk of neurodegeneration.

Indexed as

AdultAgedAged, 80 and overAgingAtrophyBody Surface AreaCerebral CortexCohort StudiesCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMiddle AgedNeurodegenerative DiseasesObesityObesityPopulation-basedStructural MRIWhite-matter volume

Identifiers

PMID27562529
PMCPMC5082766

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.