Body Composition, Vascular Health, Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Lung Function, Muscle Architecture, and Physical Activity in People with Young Onset Dementia: A Case-Control Study.

Hayes, Lawrence D; Berry, Ethan C J; Sanal-Hayes, Nilihan E M; Sculthorpe, Nicholas F; Buchan, Duncan S; Mclaughlin, Marie; Munishankar, Sowmya; Tolson, Debbie

Abstract

Body composition, blood pressure, estimated maximal oxygen uptake (VO ), lung function, physical activity, muscle architecture, and endothelial function had not previously been examined in people with young onset dementia. Therefore, the study measured these variables in a young onset dementia group, compared them to age-matched controls. Estimated VO (via the Astrand-Rhyming test), body composition, blood pressure, lung function (via spirometry), muscle architecture (via ultrasonography) and endothelial function (via flow mediated dilation) were assessed. Physical activity was measured using ActiGraph accelerometers for 7 days. We recruited 33 participants (16 young onset dementia, 17 controls). The young onset dementia group had shorter fascicle lengths of the vastus lateralis, were sedentary for longer over a seven-day period, and completed less moderate-vigorous physical activity than controls (p=0.028, d=0.81; large effect, p=0.029, d=0.54; moderate effect, and p=0.014, d=0.97; large effect, respectively for pairwise comparisons). Pairwise comparisons suggest no differences at the p<0.05 level between young onset dementia and controls for estimated VO (despite a moderate effect size [d=0.66]), height, body mass, BMI, blood pressure, light physical activity, lung function, muscle thickness, pennation angle, or endothelial function. This study highlights differences between people with young onset dementia and controls, underscoring the need for multicomponent exercise interventions. Future interventions should target muscle architecture, increase moderate-vigorous physical activity, and reduce sedentariness, with the goal of improving quality of life and promoting functional independence. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.]

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 21, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Aug 30, 2024
• Deposit Date: Oct 10, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 10, 2024
• Journal: The American journal of medicine
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2024.08.027
• Keywords: muscle architecture, physical fitness, endothelial function, blood pressure, body composition, neurodegenerative disease, lung function, physical activity, Young-onset dementia