Scientists have discovered an unexpected factor that increases survival in dementia

Scientists from Columbia and New York universities have discovered an unusual link between body weight and life expectancy of people with dementia. According to a study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, overweight patients at the time of diagnosis, on average, had a lower risk of death than people with a normal body mass index.

The researchers examined data on 4,523 participants over the age of 51 who were diagnosed with dementia between 1998 and 2022. It turned out that with excess body weight, the probability of death after the development of the disease was lower by 16%. In obesity of the first degree, the difference reached 27%, and in more severe forms - 22%.

A possible reason for the researchers called the presence of additional energy reserves. Dementia is often accompanied by poor appetite, nutritional problems, and gradual weight loss, which sometimes begins years before diagnosis. In such conditions, a greater supply of body resources is potentially able to increase the patient's resistance to exhaustion.

The authors do not recommend that people with dementia deliberately gain extra pounds. The obtained data rather indicate that body weight at diagnosis can have prognostic value, and providing patients with proper nutrition requires special attention.

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