Sarcopenia is associated with decreased gray matter volume in the parietal lobe: a longitudinal cohort study

Abstract

Background Substantial evidence supports an association between physical activity and cognitive function. However, the role of muscle mass and function in brain structural changes is not well known. This study investigated whether sarcopenia, defined as low muscle mass and strength, accelerates brain volume atrophy. Methods A total of 1284 participants with sarcopenic measurements and baseline and 4-year follow-up brain magnetic resonance images were recruited from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study. Muscle mass was represented as appendicular skeletal muscle mass divided by the body mass index. Muscle function was measured by handgrip strength. The low mass and strength groups were defined as being in the lowest quintile of each variable for one’s sex. Sarcopenia was defined as being in the lowest quintile for both muscle mass and handgrip strength. Results Of the 1284 participants, 12·6%, 10·8%, and 5·4% were classified as the low mass, low strength, and sarcopenia groups, respectively. The adjusted mean changes of gray matter (GM) volume during 4-year follow-up period were − 9·6 mL in the control group, whereas − 11·6 mL in the other three groups (P < 0·001). The significantly greater atrophy in parietal GM was observed in the sarcopenia group compared with the control group. In a joint regression model, low muscle mass, but not muscle strength, was an independent factor associated with a decrease of GM volume. Conclusions Sarcopenia is associated with parietal GM volume atrophy, in a middle-aged population. Maintaining good levels of muscle mass could be important for brain health in later adulthood.

Cortical Thickness and White Matter Hyperintensity Changes Are Associated With Sarcopenia in the Cognitively Normal Older Adults

“…27 Although not specifically indicated the precuneus area, a previous longitudinal study showed that muscle mass is associated with parietal GM volume atrophy, in a middle-aged cognitively normal subjects. 12 Taken these together, our results with precuneus area cortical reduction might be significant aberrant sign of sarcopenia as risk factor of cognitive impairment including AD and other dementia.…”

“…A recent previous large longitudinal study with 1,284 cognitively normal participants showed that significantly greater atrophy in parietal area was observed in the sarcopenia group compared with the control group. 12 They also found that low muscle mass, not muscle strength, was an independent factor associated with a decrease of gray matter (GM) volume in a joint regression model. Although they suggested that patients with sarcopenia showed GM volume reductions in the frontal, temporal, and parietal regions and in the subcortical structures when compared with the controls, the results were sometimes rather inconsistent.…”

Handgrip Strength Is Related to Hippocampal and Lobar Brain Volumes in a Cohort of Cognitively Impaired Older Adults with Confirmed Amyloid Burden

“…Few studies have evaluated the relationship between this metric and volumetric quantification on MRI. One study of 1,284 participants in the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study did not find a relationship between handgrip strength and total gray matter volume and parietal lobe gray matter [40]. This study did show a reduction in cognition in persons with sarcopenia defined by low muscle mass.…”

Grip strength asymmetry and Activities of daily living in middle-aged and elderly Chinese Relevance studies

“…This may help explain the increasing trend of grip strength asymmetry with a period. The ageing process of the human body, changes in muscle structure and reduced function [22] , as well as the onset of multiple chronic diseases [23], and neurological damage [24], may all be risk factors for the increasing proportion of people with grip asymmetry. This study suggests that grip asymmetry in older adults accounts for nearly half of the total population in China and should be considered in future studies to assess grip asymmetry.…”