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Associations between Sarcopenic Obesity and Cognitive Impairment in Elderly Chinese Community-Dwelling Individuals

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The journal of nutrition, health & aging

Abstract

Introduction

This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of sarcopenic obesity (SO) and the association between cognitive impairment and SO in a cohort of elderly Chinese community-dwelling individuals.

Methods

A total of 948 elderly Chinese community-dwelling individuals aged 60–92 years were recruited. The participants were categorized into the following four groups according to their sarcopenia and obesity status: sarcopenic obese, sarcopenic, obese and non-sarcopenic, and non-obese group. Sarcopenia was defined as appendicular skeletal muscle index of <7.0 kg/m2 in men and <5.7 kg/m2 in women; obesity was defined as values greater than the upper two quintiles for body fat percentage stratified by gender of the study population; cognitive impairment was measured using the Mini-Mental State Examination and defined as a score of <24.

Results

A total of 945 participants were included in the statistical analyses with a mean age of 68.76 ± 6.50 years. The prevalence of SO was 6.0% (7.3% in men and 4.8% in women). The sarcopenic obese (odds ratio [OR]: 2.550, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.196-5.435) and obese (ORs: 2.141, 95% CI, 1.230-3.728) groups had significantly increased risk for cognitive impairment in fully adjusted model, respectively.

Conclusion

The SO prevalence in elderly Chinese community-dwelling individuals was relatively low (6.0%). The present study suggested SO was independently associated with cognitive impairment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center of Gerontology and Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No. 37 Guoxue Lane, Chengdu, 610041, China

    H. Wang, S. Hai, Y. X. Liu, L. Cao, Y. Liu, P. Liu & Birong Dong

  2. The Fifth People’s Hospital of Chengdu, Chengdu, China

    Y. Yang

  3. Collaborative Innovation Center of Sichuan for Elderly Care and Health, Chengdu, China

    H. Wang

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  1. H. Wang
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  2. S. Hai
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  3. Y. X. Liu
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Correspondence to Birong Dong.

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Wang, H., Hai, S., Liu, Y.X. et al. Associations between Sarcopenic Obesity and Cognitive Impairment in Elderly Chinese Community-Dwelling Individuals. J Nutr Health Aging 23, 14–20 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-018-1088-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-018-1088-3

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