Especially in women.
Brain performance is starting to decrease around 50, it’s natural. This cognitive decline can be manifested by memory holes, difficulties in understanding certain things, reasoning, staying focused. Over the years, it can also cause mood or behavior changes. And it is not without consequences: these disorders affect judgment, decision -making, and ultimately, the autonomy of the person. The good news is that we can prevent cognitive decline. Japanese researchers have also shown that an early physical change could make it possible to identify people at risk.
Scientists conducted a study on 263 participants, aged 40 and over. They used a little -known but promising indicator called “phase angle” or “pha”. This is measured thanks to a special balance, used in medicine to analyze the body composition. The figure of this measure reflects the quality of muscle cells, a bit as one would evaluate the performance of a battery: the more the cells are in shape, the higher the Pha. To complete their analyzes, the researchers observed the muscle mass of the subjects, the strength of the hands and the cognitive capacities. The goal was to find a link between these measures and the early signs of cognitive disorders.
“Our results suggest that the phase angle is useful for assessing sarcopenia (geriatric syndrome characterized by a progressive loss of mass and muscle-skeletal function editor’s note), but also as a potential marker of early cognitive decline”explain the researchers in the journal Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle. More precisely, “We found that a higher phase angle is associated with a lesser risk of light cognitive disorders “. Especially in women. This means that muscle quality, not just muscle mass, could play a key role in the occurrence of cognitive disorders. Losing muscle or having poor quality muscle cells at 40 years could lead to a “increased” risk of cognitive decline, according to the authors.
This muscle-end link opens a promising track to improve health assessments after 40 years. The phase being a simple examination to do, muscle quality could be measured as we measure cholesterol or tension. While waiting for this progress, researchers recall that “Adopting personal behavior aimed at improving muscle quality can serve as a preventive measure against dementia, especially in women”. For example : Have daily physical activity, in particular muscle strengthening exercises, stay well hydrated, eat enough protein and pay attention to your sleep.
