Cognitive impairment is associated with sarcopenia mainly related to attention and calculation in hospitalized...

Sarcopenia and cognitive impairment are the most prevalent causes of disability in older individuals. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of sarcopenia and the association between cognitive impairment and sarcopenia in older patients.

A cross-sectional study was undertaken, comprised 250 male patients aged 65 and over. Sarcopenia was defined using the diagnostic recommended consensus by the Asian Working Group for sarcopenia, and the participants were classified into the sarcopenia and non-sarcopenia groups according to this definition. The cognitive functions of older patients were assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). After bivariate analyses, a multivariate logistic regression model was constructed to determine the association of study variables with sarcopenia.

The prevalence of sarcopenia and cognitive impairment was 20.8% and 19.6% respectively. Additionally, we found 10.8% patients had nutritional risk, 19.6% patients had cognitive impairment in this study. Multivariate analysis identified age (OR: 1.11, 95% Cl 1.03, 1.19, p=0.008), cognitive impairment (OR: 4.06, 95% Cl 1.42, 11.6, p=0.009) and nutritional risk (OR: 13.7, 95% Cl 3.06, 61.2, p=0.001) were significantly associated with sarcopenia. The prevalence of sarcopenia significantly increased stepwise with lower MMSE score. Additionally, the score on the attention and calculation (OR=0.68, 95% Cl: 0.51, 0.91, p=0.009) subsection of the MMSE was associated with the presence of sarcopenia. MMSE score was correlated with the fat free mass, handgrip strength (p<0.05).

Cognitive impairment, especially in the calculation and attention, and nutritional risk, are associated with sarcopenia in hospitalized Chinese male elderly. Adequate nutritional support may be the key to solving these diseases.