Increased muscle mass reduces the risk of dementia. Increased fat mass increases the risk of dementia
Oct 30, 2024
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A research team led by Professor Kim Sung-min of the Department of Convergence Medicine at Seoul National University Hospital and Professor Park Sang-min of the Department of Family Medicine announced the results of a study on the effect of changes in body composition according to gender and age on the risk of dementia based on the big data of the National Health Insurance Corporation of about 13 million people.
Dementia is a typical neurodegenerative disease that causes the decline of mental functions such as memory, cognitive ability, and decision-making ability, with more than 55 million patients worldwide and about 10 million new patients every year. Although obesity is known to be an important factor in the development of dementia, the relationship between obesity and dementia shows inconsistent results according to various indicators measuring obesity. Body mass index (BMI), commonly used as a measure of obesity, has a limitation in that it cannot distinguish between muscle mass and fat mass in the body. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the risk of dementia considering body composition including fat and muscle mass.
In addition, the composition of muscle mass and fat mass and the risk of dementia may differ depending on gender and age, so the research team tried to present a more sophisticated risk prediction model by analyzing the effect of body composition changes according to gender and age on dementia risk.
The study was conducted on 13,215,208 adults with no history of dementia who received the first screening from 2009-2010 and the second screening from 2011-2012. The research team estimated fat mass (pLBMI), limb muscle mass (pASMI), and body fat mass (pBFMI) using previously verified prediction equations, and each indicator represents body composition excluding fat from body weight, muscle mass of arms and legs, and body fat mass.
After that, the changes in each indicator were measured by comparing the two health examination data, and the effects of changes in muscle mass and fat mass on dementia risk were followed up for about 8 years through Cox proportional risk regression analysis.
As a result of the study, the risk of developing dementia in both men and women tended to decrease significantly as muscle mass increased. In the case of men, when the amount of fat increased by 1 kg/㎡, the risk of dementia decreased by 15%, and in the case of women, the risk of dementia decreased by 31%. When limb muscle mass increased by 1 kg/㎡, the risk of dementia decreased by 30% for men and 41% for women.
On the other hand, the increase in fat mass showed a significant increase in the risk of dementia, and when body fat increased by 1 kg/㎡, the risk of dementia increased by 19% for men and 53% for women. This trend was consistent across all groups, regardless of age, sex, preexisting weight, and weight change.
In addition, changes in muscle mass and fat mass were found to have a greater effect on the risk of dementia in the age group under 60 years than in the age group over 60 years, suggesting that increasing muscle mass and reducing fat mass from young age may be effective in preventing dementia in old age.
The research team explained that this study is the first to verify the effect of body composition changes on dementia risk through large-scale national epidemiological studies, and that it is significant in that it uses reliable methods without complex measuring equipment.
Professor Park Sang-min (Department of Family Medicine) "This study clearly showed that increasing muscle mass and decreasing fat mass play an important role in preventing dementia."It is essential to consider the impact of body composition management on dementia prevention rather than simply considering weight changes."
Professor Kim Sung-min (Department of Convergence Medicine) said, "This study is a large-scale study that specifically reveals the importance of managing body composition from an early age to prevent long-term dementia. Management of increasing muscle mass and reducing fat mass from an early age can be an important strategy for lowering the risk of dementia in old age.", he explained.
The findings were published in the latest issue of the American Academy of Neurology 'Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology.
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