Boeka Abbe Gayle, Lokken Kristine Lee
University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA.
Arch Clin Neuropsychol. 2008 Jul;23(4):467-74. doi: 10.1016/j.acn.2008.03.003. Epub 2008 Apr 29.
Obesity is a leading cause of preventable death in America and its prevalence is increasing at an alarming rate. While it is known that individuals with specific obesity-related medical conditions perform poorly on neuropsychological tasks, recent evidence suggests that cognitive dysfunction in obese individuals may occur independently of medical co-morbidities. This study examined neuropsychological performance in a clinical sample of extremely obese patients. Individuals seeking surgical treatment of obesity (N=68) were administered cognitive tests as part of a standard pre-surgical evaluation. Results indicated significant differences in performances of extremely obese individuals on tests of executive functioning (planning, problem solving, mental flexibility) in comparison to normative data. No significant differences emerged between obese patients with and without co-morbid medical conditions of hypertension, type II diabetes, and obstructive sleep apnea on the neuropsychological tasks specific to executive functioning. Taken together, these results provide further evidence of specific cognitive dysfunction in extremely obese individuals.
肥胖是美国可预防死亡的主要原因，其患病率正以惊人的速度上升。虽然已知患有特定肥胖相关疾病的个体在神经心理学任务中的表现较差，但最近的证据表明，肥胖个体的认知功能障碍可能独立于合并症而发生。本研究考察了极度肥胖患者临床样本的神经心理学表现。寻求肥胖手术治疗的个体（N = 68）作为标准术前评估的一部分接受了认知测试。结果表明，与常模数据相比，极度肥胖个体在执行功能测试（计划、问题解决、心理灵活性）中的表现存在显著差异。在执行功能特定的神经心理学任务上，患有和未患有高血压、II型糖尿病和阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停等合并症的肥胖患者之间没有出现显著差异。综上所述，这些结果为极度肥胖个体存在特定认知功能障碍提供了进一步的证据。
