Associated Factors of Sarcopenia in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

(1) Background: To review the associated factors of sarcopenia in community-dwelling older adults. (2) Methods: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and four Chinese electronic databases were searched for observational studies that reported the associated factors of sarcopenia from inception to August 2021. Two researchers independently selected the literature, evaluated their quality, and extracted relevant data. The pooled odds ratio (OR) and its 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated for each associated factors of sarcopenia using random-effects/fixed-effects models. Publication bias was assessed using funnel plot and the Eggers test. We performed statistical analysis using Stata 15.0 software. (3) Results: A total of 68 studies comprising 98,502 cases were included. Sociodemographic associated factors of sarcopenia among community-dwelling older adults included age (OR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.10–1.13), marital status (singled, divorced, or widowed) (OR = 1.57, 95% CI: 1.08–2.28), disability for activities of daily living (ADL) (OR = 1.49, 95% CI: 1.15–1.92), and underweight (OR = 3.78, 95% CI: 2.55–5.60). Behavioral associated factors included smoking (OR = 1.20, 95% CI: 1.10–1.21), physical inactivity (OR = 1.73, 95% CI: 1.48–2.01), malnutrition/malnutrition risk (OR = 2.99, 95% CI: 2.40–3.72), long (OR = 2.30, 95% CI: 1.37–3.86) and short (OR = 3.32, 95% CI: 1.86–5.93) sleeping time, and living alone (OR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.00–2.40). Disease-related associated factors included diabetes (OR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.18–1.66), cognitive impairment (OR = 1.62, 95% CI: 1.05–2.51), heart diseases (OR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.00–1.30), respiratory diseases (OR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.09–1.36), osteopenia/osteoporosis (OR = 2.73, 95% CI: 1.63–4.57), osteoarthritis (OR = 1.33, 95% CI: 1.23–1.44), depression (OR = 1.46, 95% CI: 1.17–1.83), falls (OR = 1.28, 95% CI: 1.14–1.44), anorexia (OR = 1.50, 95% CI: 1.14–1.96), and anemia (OR = 1.39, 95% CI: 1.06–1.82). However, it remained unknown whether gender (female: OR = 1.10, 95% CI: 0.80–1.51; male: OR = 1.50, 95% CI: 0.96–2.34), overweight/obesity (OR = 0.27, 95% CI: 0.17–0.44), drinking (OR = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.84–1.01), hypertension (OR = 0.98, 95% CI: 0.84–1.14), hyperlipidemia (OR = 1.14, 95% CI: 0.89–1.47), stroke (OR = 1.70, 95% CI: 0.69–4.17), cancer (OR = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.85–0.92), pain (OR = 1.08, 95% CI: 0.98–1.20), liver disease (OR = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.85–0.91), and kidney disease (OR = 2.52, 95% CI: 0.19–33.30) were associated with sarcopenia. (4) Conclusions: There are many sociodemographic, behavioral, and disease-related associated factors of sarcopenia in community-dwelling older adults. Our view provides evidence for the early identification of high-risk individuals and the development of relevant interventions to prevent sarcopenia in community-dwelling older adults.

The Effects of the ‘Catabolic Crisis’ on Patients’ Prolonged Immobility after COVID-19 Infection

“…Osteopenia was present in 1402 evaluated subjects (44.0%), of which 53.1% (n = 750) were male (p < 0.001); osteoporosis was diagnosed in 1156 patients (39.9%), of which 990 were female (59.9%, p < 0.001), with higher prevalence in men (54.9% vs. 67.9% in women) [34]. None of the studies demonstrated an association of smoking with sarcopenia [33].…”

“…A meta-analysis performed on 68 studies (2021) that included a patient number of 98,502 looked at the association of socio-demographic, behavioral (nutrition, smoking, physical activity), and associated disease (including osteoporosis) factors with sarcopenia among the general population. Only six studies have reported decreased bone density and support that OP is a risk factor associated with sarcopenia in the elderly population [33]. Sarcopenia is significantly related to osteopenia and osteoporosis, as demonstrated in a study of 3077 volunteers over 65 years of age, regardless of associated pathology (Lee et al, 2021).…”

Prevalence and associated factors of possible sarcopenia and sarcopenia: findings from a Chinese community-dwelling old adults cross-sectional study

“…This study did not differentiate men and women during the risk factor analysis because chi-square test for the possible sarcopenia and sarcopenia prevalence of male and female showed that no difference between genders was found. It had been reported that gender was not a risk factor of the sarcopenia [ 50 , 51 ]. Indeed, our results may be attributed to relatively small sample size, the further work need to do in the future.…”

Protein Intake and Sarcopenia in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…The overall prevalence of sarcopenia might reach up to 86.5% in adults depending on the definition used and the setting of evaluation, and is especially high in the older population [ 6 ]. This scenario deserves concern, given that the progression of sarcopenia is associated with the incidence of numerous negative events, including malnutrition, anorexia, physical inactivity, metabolic and osteoarticular disorders, cognitive impairment, falls, depressive symptoms, and death [ 7 , 8 ]. As such, sarcopenia is recognized as a public health problem and the identification of potential strategies to prevent its development and progression is a priority [ 1 , 2 ].…”