Waist circumference is correlated with poorer cognition in elderly type 2 diabetes women.

INTRODUCTION: Waist circumference is associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cognition, yet the relationship between waist circumference and cognition in individuals with T2D is not well understood.

METHODS: We studied the relationship of waist circumference with five cognitive outcomes (executive functioning, language/semantic categorization, attention/working memory, episodic memory, and an overall cognition measure) in 845 cognitively normal elderly with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

RESULTS: In women, waist circumference was correlated with significantly lower language and/or semantic categorization performance (P < .0001), executive functioning (P = .026), and overall cognition (P = .003) after controlling for age, education, BMI, and cardiovascular, diabetes-related, APOE ε4, and inflammatory potential confounders. Attention/working memory (P = .532) and episodic memory (P = .144) were not associated with waist circumference. These correlations were not found in men.

DISCUSSION: These results suggest that central adiposity in elderly women with T2D may increase their risk for dementia.