Probable sarcopenia is associated with cognitive impairment among community-dwelling older adults: results from the FIBRA study

Abstract

Background: The link between sarcopenia and cognitive impairment has not yet been thoroughly evaluated, especially among older adults. Objective: To evaluate the relationship between probable sarcopenia and cognitive impairment among community-dwelling older adults in two Brazilian cities. Methods: Probable sarcopenia was assessed using the EWGSOP2 (2018) criteria. Thus, participants were classified as probably having sarcopenia if they had SARC-F (Strength, Assistance in walking, Rise from a chair, Climb stairs and Falls) ≥4 points and low grip strength. Cognitive function was evaluated through the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), verbal fluency (VF) and clock drawing test (CDT). Results: In a sample of 529 older adults (mean age 80.8±4.9 years; mean education 4.2±3.67 years; 70.1% women), 27.3% of the participants had SARC-F≥4, 38.3% had low grip strength and 13.6% were classified as probable sarcopenia cases. After adjusting for possible confounders (age, sex, education, depression, diabetes, hypertension, leisure-time physical activity and obesity), probable sarcopenia was found to be associated with impairment in the MMSE (OR 2.52; 95%CI 1.42‒4.47; p=0.002) and in VF (OR 2.17; 95%CI 1.17‒4.01; p=0.014). Low grip strength was found to be associated with impairment in the MMSE (OR 1.83; 95%CI 1.18‒2.82; p=0.006) and in the CDT (OR 1.79; 95%CI 1.18‒2.73; p=0.006). SARC-F scores were found to be associated with impairment in the MMSE (OR 1.90; 95%CI 1.18‒3.06; p=0.008). Conclusion: The results suggested that probable sarcopenia and its components present a significant association with cognitive deficits among community-dwelling older adults. Future longitudinal studies will further explore the causal relationship.

Sarcopenia and the Brain

“…For all of these reasons, it is not surprising that there is a relationship between sarcopenia and cognitive impairment in community dwelling older adults as found by Cipolli et al and other studies 14,29,30 . As shown in Figure 1 there are multiple causes for the interrelationship between cognitive dysfunction and sarcopenia.…”

“…While cognitive frailty is now a well-accepted syndrome 10,11 , sarcopenia has not been classically associated with impaired cognition. In the last few years there has been an increasing awareness of a relationship between sarcopenia and impaired cognition 12,13 as highlighted by the article by Cipolli et al 14 . This association between poor cognition and sarcopenia should not be surprising as 82% of frailty persons have sarcopenia 15 .…”

Prevalence of sarcopenia and depressive symptoms among older adults: a scoping review

“…Ultimately, 19 studies were included in the final review. [43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61] Twelve studies [43][44][45][52][53][54][55][56][57][59][60][61] were conducted in Asian countries such as China, 44,45,53,54,56 Thailand, 61 Japan 52,57,60 and Korea 59 and only four studies were conducted in non-Asian countries such as Brazil 46,48 and Colombia, 49,50 while three studies were conducted in a transcontinental country, Turkey. 47,51,58 All the research included were cross-sectional studies.…”

Associations between indoor air pollution for cooking and heating with muscle and sarcopenia in Chinese older population

“…4 To enhance the consciousness of early identification and intervention, Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 2019 also introduces the concept of possible sarcopenia defined by low muscle strength and/or reduced physical performance. 4 Recent studies showed that possible sarcopenia declines the ability of physical function 5,6 and increases the risk of cognitive impairment, 7 stroke, 8 and 1 year mortality. 6 Risk factors of developing sarcopenia include co-morbidity, genetic and lifestyle factors operating across the life course.…”