Hypertension, Sarcopenia, and Global Cognitive Function in Community-Dwelling Older Women: A Preliminary Study

The present study aimed to investigate whether sarcopenia interferes in the association between HTN and cognitive function in community-dwelling older women. One hundred and eleven older women were recruited and dichotomized in hypertensive (n=63) and normotensive groups (n=48). Volunteers underwent evaluations of the sarcopenic state (i.e., skeletal muscle mass, short physical performance battery (SPPB), balance), hemodynamic parameters, and global cognitive status (i.e., Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE)). Data demonstrated that hypertensive patients had lower global cognitive status than normotensive subjects. When volunteers were divided according to sarcopenic status, data demonstrated that hypertensive patients with low performance on SPPB (0.006), low values of sarcopenic index (0.03), and low performance on sit-to-stand (0.09) demonstrated poor cognitive status compared with hypertensive patients with normal values of these variables. In conclusion, data of the current study indicate that the sarcopenic state might interfere in the association among hypertension and poor cognitive status, once a higher frequency of hypertensive patients with low lower limb muscle function (i.e., SPPB and sit-to-stand) and muscle mass index (i.e., Janssen index) was observed in the <24 MMSE segment, in comparison with hypertensive patients with normal results in these parameters.