Association of Sarcopenia and Its Defining Components with the Degree of Cognitive Impairment in a Memory Clinic Population

BACKGROUND: Sarcopenia and cognitive impairment are two leading causes of disabilities. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to examine the prevalence of sarcopenia and investigate the association between sarcopenia diagnostic components (muscle strength, muscle mass, and physical performance) and cognitive impairment in memory clinic patients. METHODS: 368 patients were included (age 59.0±7.25 years, women: 58.7%), displaying three clinical phenotypes of cognitive impairments, i.e., subjective cognitive impairment (SCI, 57%), mild cognitive impairment (MCI, 26%), and Alzheimer’s disease (AD, 17%). Sarcopenia was defined according to diagnostic algorithm recommended by the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People. Components of sarcopenia were grip strength, bioelectrical impedance analysis, and gait speed. They were further aggregated into a score (0–3 points) by counting the numbers of limited components. Multi-nominal logistic regression was applied. RESULTS: Probable sarcopenia (i.e., reduced grip strength) was observed in 9.6% of the patients, and 3.5% were diagnosed with sarcopenia. Patients with faster gait speed showed less likelihood of MCI (odds ratio [OR]: 0.24, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.06–0.90) and AD (OR: 0.12, 95% CI: 0.03–0.60). One or more limited sarcopenia components was associated with worse cognitive function. After adjusting for potential confounders, the association remained significant only for AD (OR 4.29, 95% CI 1.45–11.92). CONCLUSION: The results indicate a connection between the sarcopenia components and cognitive impairments. Limitations in the sarcopenia measures, especially slow walking speed, were related to poorer cognitive outcomes. More investigationsare required to further verify the causal relationship between sarcopenia and cognitive outcomes.