Brain Volume And Muscle Mass Reductions Were Not Prevented By Once-a-week Exercise In The Older People

Aging is defined as a gradual decline in physical capacity, which results in a progressive decline in the performance of multiple organs. It has been suggested that habitual exercise prevents brain volume and muscle mass reductions in the older people. However, it is less clear whether regular exercise is to what extent effective to maintain brain volume and muscle mass. PURPOSE: To investigate whether once-a-week exercise prevents reductions in brain volume and thigh muscle mass in the older people. METHODS: This cohort study was conducted in 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2022. The study sample included 36 individuals (26 females, age: 70.8 ± 6.9 yr., height: 152.6 ± 7.2 cm, weight: 51.8 ± 10.2 kg, at the initial measurement) who joined the initial and follow-up measurements at least twice. The participants joined exercise class once a week. Structural brain images were measured using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We evaluated the total grey matter and hippocampus volumes. Quadriceps muscle cross sectional area (CSA) was also measured at the mid-thigh (50% of the femur) region using MRI. We performed a repeated measures correlation analysis to examine the relationship between age and brain volume/muscle CSA. RESULTS: Repeated measures correlations revealed that the total grey matter (r = -0.663, confidence interval (CI) [-0.767, -0.526], p < 0.001) and hippocampus (r = -0.739, CI [-0.822, -0.625], p < 0.001) volumes reduced as a function of age. The quadriceps muscle CSA was negatively correlated with age (r = -0.583, CI [-0.707, -0.425], p < 0.001), and also positively correlated with the total grey matter (r = 0.391, CI [0.197, 0.556], p < 0.001) and hippocampus (r = 0.501, CI [0.325, 0.644], p < 0.001) volumes. CONCLUSION: The present findings suggest that brain volume and muscle mass reductions were not prevented by once-a-week exercise in the older people.