Low muscle mass linked to cognitive decline in older adults

(Fabienne Landry-McGill/ Futurity) –– Increasingly prevalent worldwide, dementia negatively affects the lives of millions of people and their families. By the time of diagnosis, the process appears to be irreversible.

The new research in JAMA Network Open, however, identifies muscle mass as a modifiable factor that could potentially be used to decrease the risk of developing the condition, before it’s too late.

The work highlights the importance of muscle mass as an independent factor linked with rapid cognitive decline.

“Low muscle strength has been recently associated with greater risk of dementia, but little is known about a possible link between muscle mass and cognition,” says lead author Stéphanie Chevalier, a scientist in the Metabolic Disorders and Complications Program at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre. (…)