中高年のサルコペニアだけでなく軽度認知障害(MCI)の早期判別における筋質評価・Phase Angle(フェーズアングル)の有用性を証明〜適切な筋質評価によるMCIの早期判別の可能性〜

2025-05-29

2025-05-26 国立長寿医療研究センター

国立長寿医療研究センターらの研究により、筋質評価指標であるフェーズアングル(PhA)が、中高年のサルコペニアだけでなく軽度認知障害(MCI)の早期判別にも有用であることが示されました。40歳以上の健診受診者263名を対象にした解析で、特に女性においてPhAが高いほどMCIの可能性が低いことが判明。PhAは認知機能の下位項目「記憶」との関連が男女ともに認められ、認知機能低下の早期兆候を捉える可能性が示唆されました。この成果は、サルコペニアと認知症予防への応用が期待され、「Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia Muscle」に掲載されました。

図1.女性におけるサルコペニア関連指標と軽度認知障害(MCI)との関連解析
(年齢で調整したロジスティック回帰分析^注3)

<関連情報>

位相角は一般集団におけるサルコペニアと認知機能障害の新たな早期マーカーとなる可能性がある Phase Angle Is a Potential Novel Early Marker for Sarcopenia and Cognitive Impairment in the General Population

Kentaro Ikeue, Hisashi Kato, Masashi Tanaka, Hajime Yamakage, Sayaka Kato, Masayo Iwasa, Kan Oishi, Yuiko Yamamoto, Megumi Kanasaki, Izuru Masuda, Kojiro Ishii, Noriko Satoh-Asahara
Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle Published: 08 May 2025
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/jcsm.13820

ABSTRACT

Background

Sarcopenia is associated with an increased risk for dementia. This study aimed to elucidate the relationship between sarcopenia-related indices and cognitive decline in the general population.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional study involving 263 participants (163 men with a median age of 60 years [interquartile range = 53–70] and 100 women with a median age of 58 years [interquartile range = 49–68]) who underwent a general health examination. Sarcopenia-related indices included appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM)/height², ASM/body mass index, handgrip strength (HGS), HGS/upper extremity skeletal muscle mass and phase angle (PhA). We examined the associations between these indices and cognitive function using the Japanese version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-J).

Results

Higher PhA, an indicator of muscle quality, was associated with a lower risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in women (adjusted odds ratio = 0.28 [95% confidence interval, 0.10–0.78], p = 0.014), whereas the other sarcopenia-related indices showed no significant association with MCI in both sexes. The PhA of women was positively associated with the MoCA-J scores (β = 0.27, p = 0.005). Moreover, the PhA of women showed a positive correlation with cognitive subdomains, including memory (r = 0.22, p = 0.031), which is one of the earliest manifestations of cognitive impairment. The PhA in men was also positively correlated with memory (r = 0.24, p = 0.002).