Sarcopenia using muscle mass prediction model and cognitive impairment: a longitudinal analysis from the English Longitudinal Study on Ageing

Abstract

BackgroundLiterature on the association between sarcopenia and cognitive impairment is largely unclear and mainly limited to non-European populations. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore if the presence of sarcopenia at the baseline could increase the risk of cognitive impairment in a large cohort of older people participating to the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), over ten years of follow-up.MethodsSarcopenia was diagnosed as having low handgrip strength and low skeletal muscle mass index at the baseline, using a muscle mass prediction model; cognitive function was evaluated in the ELSA through several tests. The results are reported in the whole sample adjusted for potential baseline confounders and after matching sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic participants with a propensity score.Results2738 people (mean age: 68.7 years, 54.4% males) were included. During the ten years of follow-up, sarcopenia was associated with significantly lower scores in memory (p Conclusions and implicationsSarcopenia was found to be associated with a significantly higher incidence of poor cognitive status in a large population of elderly people followed up for 10 years, suggesting it may be an important potential risk factor for dementia.</p