ABSTRACT
Introduction: Obesity is on rise globally and may have a impact on cognition. Very limited research was done on the association of weight with neurocognition among the elderly. The study purpose was to determine the correlation between BMI and age with MCI and after stratifying for BMI and socio-demographic characteristics.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 576 elderly (≥60 years) in Guwahati city using a multi-stage sampling technique. Hindi Mini-Mental State Examination (HMMSE) tool was used for screening for dementia and MCI. Results: HMMSE scores were not significantly correlated with BMI (r =0.07). However, when strati-fied, a significantly negative correlation of BMI with HMMSE scores was seen for illiterates (r =-0.21), primary school education (r =-0.48) and unskilled workers (r =-0.49). There was a significant negative correlation between age and cognition for elderly belonging to OBC, (r =-0.21), Lower middle (III), (r =-0.39), Upper Lower (r =-0.17), Lower (V), (r =-0.26), Graduate, Post Graduate,(r = -0.23), Middle School, (r =-0.36), Illiterate, (r =-0.34), Clerical, (r =-0.60), Semi Professional, (r =-0.62), skilled worker (r=-0.68), Unemployed, (r =-0.15) and Obese, (r =-0.30). Conclusion: Various factors like age, category, socioeconomic status, and Body Mass Index (BMI) were found to be predictors of cognition among the elderly.