Association between dynapenic abdominal obesity and mild cognitive impairment among middle-aged and older community-dwelling adults

Objectives: Dynapenic abdominal obesity (DAO) may potentially increase risk for mild cognitive impairment (MCI), but data is scarce, and community-based studies are lacking. Thus, we aimed to investigate the association between DAO and MCI in a large nationally representative community-based sample from six LMICs (China, Ghana, India, Mexico, Russia, South Africa). Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional data from the Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health. Dynapenia was defined as handgrip strength of < 26 kg for men and < 16 kg for women. Abdominal obesity was defined as waist circumference of > 88 cm for women and > 102 cm for men. DAO was defined as having both dynapenia and abdominal obesity. The National Institute on Ageing-Alzheimer’s Association criteria were used to define MCI. Multivariable logistic regression was performed. Results: Data on 32,715 individuals aged ≥ 50 years were analyzed [mean (SD) age 62.1 (15.6) years; 48.3% males]. Among those aged 50–64 years, dynapenia alone and DAO were significantly associated with MCI with the OR for DAO (OR = 1.79; 95%CI = 1.26–2.56) being higher than that of dynapenia alone (OR = 1.40; 95%CI = 1.15–1.71). In those aged ≥ 65 years, only dynapenia alone (OR = 1.53; 95%CI = 1.23–1.89) was significantly associated with MCI but not DAO. Abdominal obesity alone was not significantly associated with MCI in both age groups. Conclusions: Among community-dwellers in six LMICs, DAO was significantly associated with MCI among middle-aged individuals, but not among older people. However, it is important to note that the study was cross-sectional in nature, and thus, it is not known whether DAO leads to MCI or vice versa. Therefore, future longitudinal studies are necessary to clarify temporal associations and possible causality.