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Association between Reduction of Muscle Mass and Faster Declines in Global Cognition among Older People: A 4-Year Prospective Cohort Study

  • Original Research
  • Published:
The journal of nutrition, health & aging

Abstract

Objectives

A few studies reported that both decrease and increase in body mass index (BMI) were associated with the development of dementia in later life. However, it is unclear what changes in body composition are associated with cognitive decline. This study investigated the longitudinal influences of changes in body composition on cognitive function among community-dwelling adults.

Design, Setting and Participants

This longitudinal study included older adults aged ≥60 years without cognitive impairment who participated in National Institute for Longevity Sciences -Longitudinal Study of Aging.

Measurements

Cognitive function was assessed using the MMSE. Body composition was measured by a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry system. Then, BMI, fat mass index (FMI), fat-free mass index (FFMI), and muscle mass index (MMI) were calculated. The changes in body composition over 6 years (second wave to fifth wave) were calculated, and three groups were created: decreased group, decrease of >5%; stable group, change within 5%, and increased group, increase of >5%. In statistical analysis, a linear mixed model was applied by sex to investigate the influences of body composition changes on cognitive function over 4 years (fifth wave to seventh wave).

Results

This study analyzed 515 participants (mean age, 67.05 years; 53.4% men). Men with decreased group in FFMI and MMI exhibited faster declines in MMSE scores than those with stable group (β [95% CI]: FFMI, −0.293 [−0.719 to −0.020]; MMI, −0.472 [−0.884 to −0.059]). In women, there was no significant association between body composition changes and cognitive functions.

Conclusions

Decrease in fat-free mass and muscle mass is associated with faster cognitive declines in men. These results suggest the importance of continuous monitoring of muscle mass to prevent cognitive decline in later life.

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Acknowledgment

The authors thank the study participants and our colleagues in the NILS-LSA for completing the surveys of this study and Enago (www.enago.jp) for the English language review.

Funding

Funding: This work was supported by The Research Funding for Longevity Sciences [grant numbers 22–2 and 22–23] from the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology. The funders had no role in the preparation of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Prevention and Care Science, Research Institute, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, 7-430 Morioka, Obu, Aichi, 474-8511, Japan

    K. Uchida, T. Sugimoto, Y. Kuroda, N. Matsumoto & Takashi Sakurai

  2. Department of Rehabilitation Science, Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe, Hyogo, 654-0142, Japan

    K. Uchida & T. Akisue

  3. Center for Comprehensive Care and Research on Memory Disorders, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Obu, Aichi, 474-8511, Japan

    T. Sugimoto, N. Saji & Y. Kishino

  4. Department of Epidemiology of Aging, Research Institute, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Obu, Aichi, 474-8511, Japan

    C. Tange, Y. Nishita, H. Shimokata & R. Otsuka

  5. Graduate School of Nutritional Sciences, Nagoya University of Arts and Sciences, Nisshin, Aichi, 470-0196, Japan

    H. Shimokata

  6. Department of Physical Activity Research, National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 162-8636, Japan

    R. Ono

  7. Department of Public Health, Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe, Hyogo, 654-0142, Japan

    R. Ono

  8. Research Institute, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Obu, Aichi, 474-8511, Japan

    Takashi Sakurai

  9. Department of Cognitive and Behavioral Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi, 466-855, Japan

    Y. Kishino & Takashi Sakurai

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  1. K. Uchida
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  2. T. Sugimoto
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  3. C. Tange
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Takashi Sakurai.

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Conflict of interest: All authors report no conflicts of interest.

Ethical statement: The study complied with the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Ethics Committee of Human Research at the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Japan (No. 1525). All participants provided written informed consent before study participation.

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Uchida, K., Sugimoto, T., Tange, C. et al. Association between Reduction of Muscle Mass and Faster Declines in Global Cognition among Older People: A 4-Year Prospective Cohort Study. J Nutr Health Aging 27, 932–939 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-023-2007-9

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