Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40619502›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2025

Body weight trajectories from midlife are associated with cognitive decline in advanced age.

Chiara Ceolin, Federica Prinelli, Caterina Trevisan, Adele Ravelli, Silvia Conti, Lorraine Brennan, Lisette C P G M de Groot, Claire T McEvoy, Stefania Maggi, Giuseppe Sergi and 2 more

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–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

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Does lifestyle intervention lower clinically significant cognitive impairment risk?Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026
    Trial
  2. Trial
  3. Article
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

12 authors.

Chiara Ceolin *Geriatric Unit, Department of Medicine, University of Padova (UNIPD), Via Giustiniani 2, 35128, Padova, Italy.
Federica Prinelli *Institute of Biomedical Technologies, National Research Council (CNR), Via Fratelli Cervi 93, 20054, Segrate, MI, Italy.
Caterina TrevisanGeriatric Unit, Department of Medicine, University of Padova (UNIPD), Via Giustiniani 2, 35128, Padova, Italy. caterina.trevisan@unife.it.
Adele RavelliGeriatric Unit, Department of Medicine, University of Padova (UNIPD), Via Giustiniani 2, 35128, Padova, Italy.
Silvia ContiInstitute of Biomedical Technologies, National Research Council (CNR), Via Fratelli Cervi 93, 20054, Segrate, MI, Italy.
Lorraine BrennanSchool of Agriculture and Food Science, Institute of Food and Health and Conway Institute, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland.
Lisette C P G M de GrootDivision of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Claire T McEvoyCentre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.
Stefania MaggiNeuroscience Institute, Aging Branch, National Research Council (CNR), Viale Giuseppe Colombo 3, 35121, Padova, Italy.
Giuseppe SergiGeriatric Unit, Department of Medicine, University of Padova (UNIPD), Via Giustiniani 2, 35128, Padova, Italy.
Marianna NoaleNeuroscience Institute, Aging Branch, National Research Council (CNR), Viale Giuseppe Colombo 3, 35121, Padova, Italy.
PROMED-COG Consortium

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Fluctuations in body weight may impact cognitive decline, but current evidence is inconclusive. The aim of this study is to investigate associations between body weight trajectories from midlife to later life and cognitive decline. This retrospective study analyzed harmonized data from two population-based longitudinal studies, the Progetto Veneto Anziani and the Italian Longitudinal Study of Aging, encompassing baseline and two follow-up assessments over 9 years. Weight changes were recorded from baseline to the last available follow-up or from 50 years (self-reported data) to the last available follow-up. Cognitive function was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and cognitive decline was defined as experiencing a MMSE change from baseline to the follow-up within the lowest quartile of the change distribution in the total sample. In a sample of 3852 individuals (46% females, age 65-96 years at baseline), we investigated the impact of weight change on cognitive decline with two sets of analyses. First, using weight measurements obtained during old age, growth mixture modelling identified three weight trajectories: decreasing, stable, and increasing. None of these trajectories was significantly associated with cognitive decline. Second, we considered weight at age 50 as the baseline assessment to capture weight changes from midlife. Among the three trajectories detected (increasing, stable, and decreasing), the decreasing trajectory was significantly associated with a higher likelihood of cognitive decline in males (HR 1.44, 95% CI 1.06-1.94) and females (HR = 1.37, 95%CI 1.23-1.67), whereas the increasing trajectory was associated with cognitive decline only in females (HR = 1.33, 95%CI 1.01-1.76). These results suggest that changes in body weight from middle to older age are associated with cognitive decline in advanced age. Since body weight is influenced by multiple factors, a broader assessment of health-including metabolic, vascular, behavioral, and social dimensions-should be considered in both research and clinical settings.

Indexed as

AgingBody WeightBody-Weight TrajectoryCognitive DysfunctionAgedAged, 80 and overCognitionFemaleHumansItalyLongitudinal StudiesMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesBody weightCognitive declineDementiaPooled cohortsTrajectories analysis

Identifiers

PMID40619502
PMCPMC12230133

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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.