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People who are overweight or obese when they are diagnosed with dementia are likely to live longer than those in a normal weight range, according to a new study by Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and NYU School of Global Public Health. The findings suggest that weight status at the time of a dementia diagnosis may provide meaningful prognostic information about survival and underscore the need for greater attention to nutrition among those with dementia.

Obesity is a risk factor for a range of illnesses, including heart disease and diabetes. Studies have also shown that people who are overweight or obese at midlife are more likely to develop dementia later in life. Yet some studies show that among those diagnosed with dementia, obesity is associated with improved survival.

"Because this finding is somewhat counterintuitive, an important question is whether it could simply be an artifact of bias. Our analyses suggest that the major sources of bias we examined do not explain the survival advantage associated with higher weight," said corresponding author Yuan Zhang, Ph.D., assistant professor of sociomedical sciences at Columbia Mailman and in the Butler Columbia Aging Center.

The researchers found that people with dementia who were overweight or obese at the time of diagnosis had a significantly lower mortality risk than those of normal weight, even after adjusting for factors such as other chronic conditions, smoking and demographics.

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