Association Between Sarcopenia and Mild Cognitive Impairment Using the Japanese Version of the SARC-F in Elderly Patients With Diabetes.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between sarcopenia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in elderly patients with diabetes using the Japanese version of the simple 5-item questionnaire (SARC-F-J).

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Community hospital in Japan.

Participants: Subjects were people with diabetes aged 65 years and older being treated on an outpatient basis at the Ise Red Cross Hospital.

Measurements: We used the Japanese version of the self-administered cognitive test Test Your Memory (TYM-J) to measure MCI and the self-administered questionnaire SARC-F-J, consisting of 5 items, to evaluate sarcopenia. We conducted a multiple logistic regression analysis with MCI as the dependent variable and sarcopenia as the explanatory variable to calculate the odds ratio of sarcopenia in association with MCI.

Results: A total of 250 cases (150 men and 100 women) were included in our study. The prevalence of sarcopenia in this sample was 19.5% and that of MCI was 40.3%. The adjusted odds ratio of sarcopenia in association with MCI was 2.96 (95% confidence interval, 1.09-7.70, P = .032).

Conclusion: A statistically significant association was found between sarcopenia and MCI in an assessment of elderly patients with diabetes using the SARC-F-J.