Association of cognitive impairment, depressive symptoms and sarcopenia among healthy older men in the veterans retirement community in southern Taiwan: a cross-sectional study.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the association of cognitive impairment, depressive mood and sarcopenia among older men living in the veterans retirement community in southern Taiwan


METHODS
This cross-sectional study recruited 353 men aged 65 years and older. In addition to demographic characteristics, all participants were measured for gait speed, handgrip strength and muscle mass by using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). The diagnosis of sarcopenia was made according to the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People criteria. Slow walking speed was defined as ≤ 0.8 meter/second. Low muscle strength was defined as the handgrip strength less than 22.5 kg which was adjusted according to Taiwanese norms. A height-adjusted muscle mass of 8.87 kg/m2 from a previous Taiwanese study was defined as low muscle mass. Cognitive function was evaluated by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and the Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS-15) was used for screening of depressive symptoms.


RESULTS
Among the 353 participants (mean age 82.7 ± 5.3 years), 30.9% (109/353) were classified as sarcopenic. Multivariate logistic regression showed that sarcopenia was independently associated with cognitive impairment (adjusted OR 3.03, 95% CI 1.63-5.65, P < 0.001) and depressive symptoms (adjusted OR 2.25, 95% CI 1.03-4.89, P = 0.04).


CONCLUSIONS
Sarcopenia was significantly associated with cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms among otherwise healthy older men living in the veterans retirement community. Further outcome study is required to explore the interrelationship of cognition, depressive symptoms and sarcopenia in older adults.
Geriatric Medicine Center, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Division of Neurology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; National Yang Ming University School of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
Ying-Hsin
YH
Hsu
Chih-Kuang
CK
Liang
Ming-Yueh
MY
Chou
Mei-Chen
MC
Liao
Yu-Teh
YT
Lin
Liang-Kung
LK
Chen
Yuk-Keung
YK
Lo
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003071:Cognition; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D005684:Gait; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D018737:Hand Strength; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D053580:Muscle Strength / Q000502:physiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012016:Reference Values; D055948:Sarcopenia / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D014728:Veterans
cognitive impairment; depressive mood; elderly; men; sarcopenia