IBM and higher weight in preadolescence could compromise some structures of the brain
Using MRI data from the largest long-term study of children’s brain development and health in the United States, researchers have found that higher weight and body mass index (BMI) in preadolescence are associated with it is referred to as “poor brain health”. The findings were reported at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) annual meeting.
Kaltenhauser’s study used imaging data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, which included 11,878 children aged 9 to 10 from 21 centers across the country to represent the sociodemographic diversity of children. United States.
After excluding children with eating disorders, neurodevelopmental, psychiatric and traumatic brain injury diseases, the final study group included 5,169 children (51.9% female). Based on the children’s IBM scores and measures of relative weight adjusted for age, sex, and height, the within-study group overweight and obesity rates were 21% and 17.6%, respectively. % .To gain a comprehensive view of brain health within the study group, the team evaluated information from structural MRI and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which allows researchers to measure the brain activity by detecting changes in blood flow.
The findings confirm structural brain changes in heavier-weight children, including significant impairment of white matter integrity . Specifically, the brain areas of interest included the white matter of the corpus callosum, the main connector between the two hemispheres of the brain.
“Increased IBM and weight are not only associated with physical health consequences, but also brain health,” said Kaltenhauser, one of the authors of the research project. “Our study showed that higher weight in 9- and 10-year-olds is associated with changes in macrostructures, microstructures, and functional connectivity that worsen brain health.”
- RSNA News Archive. (rsna.org)
