Association of Motoric Cognitive Risk Syndrome with Sarcopenia and Systemic Inflammation in Pre-Frail Older Adults

Motoric cognitive risk syndrome (MCR) is defined by the presence of slow gait and subjective cognitive decline. It is well recognized as a prodrome for dementia, but the biological mechanism and trajectory for MCR are still lacking. The objective of this study was to explore the association of MCR with body composition, including sarcopenia and systemic inflammation, in pre-frail older adults in a cross-sectional study of 397 pre-frail community-dwelling older adults. Data on demographics, physical function, frailty, cognition (Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)), perceived health and depression were collected. Body composition was measured using a bioelectrical impedance analyzer. Systemic inflammatory biomarkers, such as progranulin, growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15), interleukin-10 (IL-10), interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), were collected. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to analyze the association between MCR, body composition, sarcopenia and systemic inflammatory biomarkers. The prevalence of MCR was 14.9%. They were significantly older and there were more females, depression, functional impairment, lower education, physical activity and MoCA scores. Body fat percentage (BF%), fat mass index, fat to fat free mass ratio (FM/FFM) and sarcopenia prevalence were significantly higher in MCR. Serum GDF-15 and TNF-α levels were highest with progranulin/TNF-α and IL-10/TNF-α ratio lowest in MCR. Compared to healthy patients, MCR was significantly associated with sarcopenia (aOR 2.62; 95% CI 1.46–3.17), BF% (aOR 1.06; 95% CI 1.01–1.12), FMI (aOR 1.16; 95% CI 1.02–1.30) and FM/FFM (aOR 6.38; 95% CI 1.20–33.98). The association of IL-10 to TNF-α ratio (aOR 0.98, 95% CI 0.97–0.99) and IL-10 (aOR 2.22, 95% CI 0.05–0.98) with MCR were independent of sarcopenia and BF%. Longitudinal population studies are needed to understand the role of body fat indices and IL-10 in pre-frail older adults with MCR and trajectory to dementia.