Association between sarcopenia and cognitive impairment in the older people: a meta-analysis

Purpose The effects of sarcopenia on the older people are profound, increasing the risk of adverse outcomes for older patients. Although the substantial impact of sarcopenia on maintaining functional independence and adverse health outcomes has been described many times in the past, the link between sarcopenia and cognitive impairment in older adults remains lacking in evidence and controversial. Therefore, we conducted a comprehensive search of available national and international databases and carried out a meta-analysis to examine the association between sarcopenia in older people and cognitive impairment. Methods Relevant experiments had been recognized via looking out electronic databases and conference sessions. The present study included case-control, cohort, or cross-sectional studies of the association between sarcopenia and cognitive impairment in the older people. Results The meta-analysis included 26 articles and 18,788 participants were involved after assessment of eligibility. The results of this meta-analysis showed that the risk of developing cognitive impairment was significantly higher in patients with sarcopenia than in those without sarcopenia [OR = 1.75; 95% CI = 1.57, 1.95; P < 0.00001], MMSE score of sarcopenia group was lower than that of non-sarcopenia group, the difference was statistically significant [OR = - 2.23; 95% CI = - 2.48, - 1.99; P < 0.00001]. Conclusion Overall, this meta-analysis showed an association between sarcopenia and cognitive impairment in the older people, demonstrating a significant association between sarcopenia and cognitive impairment. This suggested that providing comprehensive sarcopenia screening and active prevention for the older people with cognitive decline has certain clinical value for improving the quality of life of the older people. Key summary pointsAim To carry out a meta-analysis to reveal and describe the association between sarcopenia and cognitive impairment in the older people. Finding Patients with sarcopenia were at higher risk of cognitive impairment and there was statistically significant difference, confirming their correlation. Message Comprehensive screening and active prevention of sarcopenia are in need for those older people with cognitive decline, which may help enhance the quality of everyday life.