Objectives: To investigate the associations between body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and cognitive function among Chinese elderly.
Design: Cross-sectional study.
Setting: Community.
Participants: Data were obtained from the baseline survey of a community-based cohort in Zhejiang Province, and 9326 persons aged 60 years and older were enrolled.
Primary outcome measures: We investigated the association between BMI and cognition, and then explored the association between WHR and cognition across different quartiles of BMI.
Results: A sample of 9087 persons was used in this study, including 4375 men and 4712 women. Higher WHR increased cognitive impairment risk in those with BMI >25.3 kg/m2 (OR (per 0.1 increase) 1.39; 95% CI 1.13 to 1.70). No statistically significant association was found in other BMI categories.
Conclusions: Higher WHR could increase the risk of cognitive impairment among elderly with BMI >25.3 kg/m2. Our results suggest that it could be of benefit to the elderly with high BMI to control WHR.
Keywords: abdominal obesity; body mass index; chinese; cognitive impairment; elderly.
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