Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Dec 5;14(12):e092448.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-092448.

Association of sarcopenia, ambient air pollution and cognitive function in a community-dwelling middle-aged and elderly Korean population: a community-based cohort study

Jane J Lee  1   2 , Hae Dong Woo  1 , Ji Hyun Kim  1 , Eun Ju Jung  1 , Kyoungho Lee  3
Affiliations

Association of sarcopenia, ambient air pollution and cognitive function in a community-dwelling middle-aged and elderly Korean population: a community-based cohort study

Jane J Lee et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate the association of sarcopenia, exposure to medium-term to long-term ambient particulate matter 2.5 µm and 10 µm (PM2.5 and PM10) pollution and cognitive function in a community-dwelling cohort of middle-aged and older adults in South Korea.

Design: A community-based prospective cohort study.

Setting: In the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES).

Participants: The participants were drawn from the seventh follow-up visit conducted between 2015 and 2016 in the KoGES community-based Ansung cohort who had participated in an ageing substudy.

Outcome measures: Cognitive function was evaluated by the Korean version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (K-MMSE) and decreased cognitive function was defined as a K-MMSE score of 23 or less.

Results: Of the 2274 participants (mean age 70.1 years, 58.3% women and mean annual PM2.5 and PM10 levels of 30.7 and 52.2 μg/m3, respectively), 8.7% (n=197) were sarcopenic, 35.8% (n=814) were possible sarcopenic and 55.5% (n=1263) were non-sarcopenic. The predictors of sarcopenia included body mass index, cognitive function, age, marital status, hypertension and physical activity. Exposure to PM2.5 and PM10 for an average duration of 1 month to 3 years was not selected as a predictor of sarcopenia. Participants with sarcopenia were associated with lower cognitive scores (β=-1.51, p<0.0001) and decreased cognitive function compared with those without sarcopenia (OR 2.34, 95% CI 1.56 to 3.52). Exposure to medium-term and long-term PM2.5 or PM10 was not associated with sarcopenia. The effect modification of PM exposure on the association between sarcopenia and cognitive function was generally not detected.

Conclusions: In this community-based observational cohort study of KoGES participants aged 50 years and older, sarcopenia was associated with decreased cognitive function. However, medium-term to long-term exposure to PM2.5 or PM10 was not associated with sarcopenia and did not modify the relationship between sarcopenia and cognitive function.

Keywords: aging; epidemiology; public health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Statistics Korea Future population estimates, 2070, 2023.02.10, key population indicators (sex ratio, population growth rate, population structure, dependency ratio, etc.) / nationwide. [10-Feb-2023]. https://kosis.kr/statHtml/statHtml.do?orgId=101&tblId=DT_1BPA002&conn_pa... Available. Accessed.
    1. Rogeri PS, Zanella R, Jr, Martins GL, et al. Strategies to Prevent Sarcopenia in the Aging Process: Role of Protein Intake and Exercise. Nutrients. 2021;14:52. doi: 10.3390/nu14010052. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Peters R, Booth A, Rockwood K, et al. Combining modifiable risk factors and risk of dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open. 2019;9:e022846. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-022846. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cruz-Jentoft AJ, Bahat G, Bauer J, et al. Sarcopenia: revised European consensus on definition and diagnosis. Age Ageing. 2019;48:16–31. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afy169. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chen L-K, Liu L-K, Woo J, et al. Sarcopenia in Asia: consensus report of the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2014;15:95–101. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2013.11.025. - DOI - PubMed

Substances

LinkOut - more resources