Sarcopenia and Cognitive Impairment

Physical disability and dementia are two major adverse outcomes in aging research and are of great importance to the quality of life of older people. This chapter explores the epidemiology of the coexistence of sarcopenia and cognitive impairment, as well as their development in the aging process and the potential cross talk between them. Knowing the components of cognitive functioning and their age-related declines may improve the understanding of the complex interrelationship between sarcopenia, physical declines, and cognitive declines because different studies may use different neuropsychological assessments in defining cognitive performance. Most published studies have identified positive associations between sarcopenia and cognitive impairment among community-dwelling older people, as well as individuals who visited frailty clinics or memory clinics or even older people with dementia. Potential muscle-brain cross talk may exist through spinal or extraspinal pathways that facilitates communications between muscle and brain in the aging process.