ArticleNeurology2020
Body mass index, diet, physical inactivity, and the incidence of dementia in 1 million UK women.
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Article in Neurology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 45 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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45citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
8.0field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
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Who cites it
45 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 80 citations in OpenAlex.
- Association of combined ultra-processed food intake (ultra-processed dietary pattern) with cognitive function impairment: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.Journal of neurology · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Perimenopausal Physical Activity and Dementia Risk: A Systematic Review.International journal of sports medicine · 2024Pooled it
- The effects of a moderate physical activity intervention on physical fitness and cognition in healthy elderly with low levels of physical activity: a randomized controlled trial.Alzheimer's research & therapy · 2023Trial
- UK Biobank at 20 - a growing, global resource for dementia research.Nature reviews. Neurology · 2026Review
- Sex- and age-dependent associations between waist-to-hip ratio and cognitive impairment: a cross-sectional study of rural adults aged 40 years and older in northwestern China.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2026Article
- Physical activity as a modifiable risk factor in preclinical Alzheimer's disease.Nature medicine · 2025Article
- Daily steps are a predictor of, but perhaps not a risk factor for Parkinson's disease: findings from the UK Biobank.NPJ Parkinson's disease · 2025Article
- Ambient Air Pollution, Cognitive Impairment, and Dementia Among Older Patients Being Evaluated for Kidney Transplantation.Clinical transplantation · 2025Article
- Cardiometabolic health and risk of dementia and brain atrophy: a community-based prospective cohort study of 0.5 million adults in China.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2025Article
- Interplay between age, APOE Ɛ4 and the metabolome in plasma and brain in Alzheimer's disease.Translational psychiatry · 2025Article
- Observational
- Examining the role of anticipated enjoyment and intention in predicting attendance in exercise classes.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Healthy Cardiovascular Status Attenuates the Detrimental Association Between Osteosarcopenic Adiposity and Alzheimer's Disease-Related Dementia: A UK Biobank Cohort Study.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2025Article
- Article
- Obstructive sleep apnoea and risk of dementia: a Danish population-based cohort study.BMJ neurology open · 2025Article
- Health-Related Behaviors and Risk of Common Age-Related Brain Diseases Across Severities of Genetic Risk.Neurology · 2024Article
- Association of obesity indicators with cognitive function among US adults aged 60 years and older: Results from NHANES.Brain and behavior · 2024Article
- Interactions between age, sex and visceral adipose tissue on brain ageing.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2024Article
- Assessing Risk Factors for Cognitive Decline Using Electronic Health Record Data: A Scoping Review.Research square · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
14 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Sarah FloudFrom the Cancer Epidemiology Unit (S.F., R.F.S., A.B., A.B., A.G., G.K.R., J.G., V.B.) and MRC Population Health Research Unit (S.P.), Nuffield Department of Population Health (R.P.), and Department of Psychiatry (J.G.), University of Oxford; Centre for Medical Informatics (C.S.), Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, University of Edinburgh, UK; Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (P.H.), Sydney, Australia; and Department of Epidemiology (A.H.), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA. sarah.floud@ndph.ox.ac.uk.
Rachel F SimpsonFrom the Cancer Epidemiology Unit (S.F., R.F.S., A.B., A.B., A.G., G.K.R., J.G., V.B.) and MRC Population Health Research Unit (S.P.), Nuffield Department of Population Health (R.P.), and Department of Psychiatry (J.G.), University of Oxford; Centre for Medical Informatics (C.S.), Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, University of Edinburgh, UK; Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (P.H.), Sydney, Australia; and Department of Epidemiology (A.H.), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
Angela BalkwillFrom the Cancer Epidemiology Unit (S.F., R.F.S., A.B., A.B., A.G., G.K.R., J.G., V.B.) and MRC Population Health Research Unit (S.P.), Nuffield Department of Population Health (R.P.), and Department of Psychiatry (J.G.), University of Oxford; Centre for Medical Informatics (C.S.), Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, University of Edinburgh, UK; Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (P.H.), Sydney, Australia; and Department of Epidemiology (A.H.), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
Anna BrownFrom the Cancer Epidemiology Unit (S.F., R.F.S., A.B., A.B., A.G., G.K.R., J.G., V.B.) and MRC Population Health Research Unit (S.P.), Nuffield Department of Population Health (R.P.), and Department of Psychiatry (J.G.), University of Oxford; Centre for Medical Informatics (C.S.), Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, University of Edinburgh, UK; Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (P.H.), Sydney, Australia; and Department of Epidemiology (A.H.), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
Adrian GoodillFrom the Cancer Epidemiology Unit (S.F., R.F.S., A.B., A.B., A.G., G.K.R., J.G., V.B.) and MRC Population Health Research Unit (S.P.), Nuffield Department of Population Health (R.P.), and Department of Psychiatry (J.G.), University of Oxford; Centre for Medical Informatics (C.S.), Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, University of Edinburgh, UK; Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (P.H.), Sydney, Australia; and Department of Epidemiology (A.H.), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
John GallacherFrom the Cancer Epidemiology Unit (S.F., R.F.S., A.B., A.B., A.G., G.K.R., J.G., V.B.) and MRC Population Health Research Unit (S.P.), Nuffield Department of Population Health (R.P.), and Department of Psychiatry (J.G.), University of Oxford; Centre for Medical Informatics (C.S.), Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, University of Edinburgh, UK; Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (P.H.), Sydney, Australia; and Department of Epidemiology (A.H.), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
Cathie SudlowFrom the Cancer Epidemiology Unit (S.F., R.F.S., A.B., A.B., A.G., G.K.R., J.G., V.B.) and MRC Population Health Research Unit (S.P.), Nuffield Department of Population Health (R.P.), and Department of Psychiatry (J.G.), University of Oxford; Centre for Medical Informatics (C.S.), Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, University of Edinburgh, UK; Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (P.H.), Sydney, Australia; and Department of Epidemiology (A.H.), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
Phillip HarrisFrom the Cancer Epidemiology Unit (S.F., R.F.S., A.B., A.B., A.G., G.K.R., J.G., V.B.) and MRC Population Health Research Unit (S.P.), Nuffield Department of Population Health (R.P.), and Department of Psychiatry (J.G.), University of Oxford; Centre for Medical Informatics (C.S.), Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, University of Edinburgh, UK; Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (P.H.), Sydney, Australia; and Department of Epidemiology (A.H.), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
Albert HofmanFrom the Cancer Epidemiology Unit (S.F., R.F.S., A.B., A.B., A.G., G.K.R., J.G., V.B.) and MRC Population Health Research Unit (S.P.), Nuffield Department of Population Health (R.P.), and Department of Psychiatry (J.G.), University of Oxford; Centre for Medical Informatics (C.S.), Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, University of Edinburgh, UK; Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (P.H.), Sydney, Australia; and Department of Epidemiology (A.H.), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
Sarah ParishFrom the Cancer Epidemiology Unit (S.F., R.F.S., A.B., A.B., A.G., G.K.R., J.G., V.B.) and MRC Population Health Research Unit (S.P.), Nuffield Department of Population Health (R.P.), and Department of Psychiatry (J.G.), University of Oxford; Centre for Medical Informatics (C.S.), Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, University of Edinburgh, UK; Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (P.H.), Sydney, Australia; and Department of Epidemiology (A.H.), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
Gillian K ReevesFrom the Cancer Epidemiology Unit (S.F., R.F.S., A.B., A.B., A.G., G.K.R., J.G., V.B.) and MRC Population Health Research Unit (S.P.), Nuffield Department of Population Health (R.P.), and Department of Psychiatry (J.G.), University of Oxford; Centre for Medical Informatics (C.S.), Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, University of Edinburgh, UK; Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (P.H.), Sydney, Australia; and Department of Epidemiology (A.H.), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
Jane GreenFrom the Cancer Epidemiology Unit (S.F., R.F.S., A.B., A.B., A.G., G.K.R., J.G., V.B.) and MRC Population Health Research Unit (S.P.), Nuffield Department of Population Health (R.P.), and Department of Psychiatry (J.G.), University of Oxford; Centre for Medical Informatics (C.S.), Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, University of Edinburgh, UK; Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (P.H.), Sydney, Australia; and Department of Epidemiology (A.H.), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
Richard PetoFrom the Cancer Epidemiology Unit (S.F., R.F.S., A.B., A.B., A.G., G.K.R., J.G., V.B.) and MRC Population Health Research Unit (S.P.), Nuffield Department of Population Health (R.P.), and Department of Psychiatry (J.G.), University of Oxford; Centre for Medical Informatics (C.S.), Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, University of Edinburgh, UK; Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (P.H.), Sydney, Australia; and Department of Epidemiology (A.H.), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
Valerie BeralFrom the Cancer Epidemiology Unit (S.F., R.F.S., A.B., A.B., A.G., G.K.R., J.G., V.B.) and MRC Population Health Research Unit (S.P.), Nuffield Department of Population Health (R.P.), and Department of Psychiatry (J.G.), University of Oxford; Centre for Medical Informatics (C.S.), Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, University of Edinburgh, UK; Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (P.H.), Sydney, Australia; and Department of Epidemiology (A.H.), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
University of Edinburgh · GBRoyal Prince Alfred Hospital · AU
Funding
Cancer Research UK 16491Cancer Research UK 29186Medical Research Council G0700474Medical Research Council G9900923Medical Research Council MR/K02700X/1Medical Research Council MR/L023784/2
Abstract
objectiveTo help determine whether midlife obesity is a cause of dementia and whether low body mass index (BMI), low caloric intake, and physical inactivity are causes or merely consequences of the gradual onset of dementia by recording these factors early in a large 20-year prospective study and relating them to dementia detection rates separately during follow-up periods of <5, 5 to 9, 10 to 14, and 15+ years.
methodsA total of 1,136,846 UK women, mean age 56 (SD 5) years, were recruited in 1996 to 2001 and asked about height, weight, caloric intake, and inactivity. They were followed up until 2017 by electronic linkage to National Health Service records, detecting hospital admissions with mention of dementia. Cox regression yielded adjusted rate ratios (RRs) for first dementia detection during particular follow-up periods.
resultsFifteen years after the baseline survey, only 1% were lost to follow-up, and 89% remained alive with no detected dementia, of whom 18,695 had dementia detected later, at a mean age of 77 (SD 4) years. Dementia detection during years 15+ was associated with baseline obesity (BMI 30+ vs 20-24 kg/m
conclusionsMidlife obesity may well be a cause of dementia. In contrast, behavioral changes due to preclinical disease could largely or wholly account for associations of low BMI, low caloric intake, and inactivity with dementia detection during the first decade of follow-up.
Indexed as
Body Mass IndexEnergy IntakeSedentary BehaviorAgedAged, 80 and overDementiaFemaleHumansIncidenceMiddle AgedObesityRisk FactorsUnited Kingdom
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