Introduction
It is known that sarcopenia (age-associated loss of muscle mass) and obesity (high percentage body fat in body composition regardless of the decrease in muscle mass) are associated with decreased physical function in the elderly. Sarcopenic obesity, which is a condition of coexistence of sarcopenia and obesity, is expected that cause a synergistic effect on a deterioration of physical function, but the research on this is still limited.
Objective
This study aimed to investigate the impact of sarcopenic obesity on physical function in the elderly.
Methods
This is a cross-sectional study using the Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study (KFACS) database for the elderly living in a community (1131 males and 1265 females) in the 70-84 age group. Appendicular skeletal muscle mass was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and sarcopenia is defined as the lower 20% of the value measured by the appendicular skeletal muscle mass divided by height squared (kg/m²). Obesity was defined as a male with an abdominal circumference greater than 90 cm and a female greater than 85 cm. Physical function was measured by grip strength, timed up and go (TUG) test, and short physical performance battery (SPPB).
Results
When divided into four groups according to muscle mass and abdominal circumference, the proportions of males and females were normal (39.5% vs. 26.4%), obesity (40.5% vs. 53.8%), sarcopenia (16.1% vs. 13.1%) and sarcopenic obesity (3.9% vs. 6.7%), respectively. In men, the sarcopenic obesity had significantly lower grip strength and total score of SPPB compared to the normal/obesity (p < 0.05), but not significantly different from the sarcopenia (p > 0.05). In women, grip strength was the same result as for men, but the TUG test was significantly slower for the sarcopenic obesity than for the sarcopenia. In the total score of SPPB, the sarcopenic obesity was significantly lower than the other three groups (p < 0.05). In logistic regression analysis after adjusting for age, demographic and cardiovascular risk factors to observe the association between scores of SPPB and body composition, men with sarcopenic obesity had greater odds to belong to a lower score category of SPPB than normal (OR 2.02, 95% CI = 1.01 - 4.04). This tendency was more prominent in women (OR 3.82, 95% CI = 2.04 - 7.16).
Conclusion
Sarcopenic obesity is associated with decreased physical function in elderly men and it appears to be a synergistic impact on the deterioration of physical function especially in elderly women. |
