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Muscle mass is important. Not only is activity shown to help with blood sugar, heart health, bone strength, and living to 100 in the blue zones, it seems to correlate also with brain health. We are believers in this. That is why we at Biohackr Health are focused on healthspan, not just lifespan. We want you to be active, healthy, and disease free, not just hit a bigger number on the birthday cake.
This was a study published in July 2022 by JAMA (the Journal of American Medicine). “Association of Low Muscle Mass with Cognitive Function During a 3 Year Follow up Among Adults Aged 65 to 86 Years in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.” Phew! What a long title. What they are looking at is a big number of regular people over time and seeing if their muscle mass correlates with dementia.
They start with the why they studied this. Other prior studies have shown low muscle mass and strength are associated with cognitive impairment. They were trying to figure out if low muscle mass, which reflects your “physiologic reserve,” is INDEPENDENTLY associated with faster cognitive decline.
Study:
- Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, a prospective population based cohort study of adults living in the community (not hospitalized/in a home)
- 3 year follow up
- Ages 65-86, 8279 participants, 48% female, 97% white, mean age 72.9, 72% had post secondary degrees. and mean BMI was 27.7
- Appendicular Lean soft tissue mass was assessed
- Cognitive testing
- Memory with the Rey auditory verbal learning test
- Executive function with the mental alternation test, Stroop high interference tests, animal fluency test, and controlled oral word association test
- Psychomotor speed assessed with computer administered choice reaction time
Results:
19% had low Appendicular Lean Mass at baseline. They tended to be older, male, smokers, lower BMI, and lower physical activity level (no differences in Type 2 diabetes, education, and income were seen). The lower baseline ALM were found to start at baseline with lower immediate and delayed recall and memory, animal naming (executive function), and poorer performance at the choice reaction time (psychomotor speed).
Low ALM at baseline was associated with faster cognitive decline in executive function, even when adjusted for things like age, education, percentage body fat, and hand grip strength. Memory was not associated. Those who started with lower baselines had a greater decline.
They did find slower decline with younger patients, women, and income in memory, but ALM was not an independent factor for memory.
They conclude “Identification of older adults with low muscle mass, a targetable modifiable factor, may help estimate those at risk for accelerated executive function decline.”
Our thoughts at Biohackr Health?
COME IN! We are focused on healthspan and increasing your activity. Muscle mass, strength, and endurance are things we can help you with. When you are aging, particularly if after menopause or for men after age 50, you can actively do things to improve muscle mass. You need to target your muscles to build them- this is not cardio; this is muscle building. Resistance training, creatine, hormone support, and NAD are all basic tenets of this. We use science based data where it exists (read our blogs!) and carry certified high-quality supplements where science has shown it to be beneficial.
Test yourself- see where you are at muscle wise with an In Body scan to see your muscle percentage. See your hormone levels and NAD levels. Don’t just throw spaghetti at the wall. Test. Evaluate. Treat. Retest. Be your own scientist for your body. See where you are deficient. See what treatments work well for YOU. Every body is different.
See our page on BODY.
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