Sarcopenia and COVID-19 Outcomes

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spread rapidly and became a severe global public health threat. Older adults have a high risk of COVID-19 and its associated mortality. Sarcopenia has emerged as a predictor of poor outcomes in COVID-19 patients, including lengthy hospital stays, mortality, intensive care unit admission, need for invasive mechanical ventilation, and poor rehabilitation outcomes. Chronic inflammation, immune dysfunction, respiratory muscle dysfunction, and swallowing dysfunction may underlie the association between sarcopenia and the poor outcomes of COVID-19 patients. Interleukin 6 receptor blockers (tocilizumab or sarilumab) are recommended for treating patients with severe COVID-19, and their therapeutic effects on sarcopenia are of great interest. This review aimed to analyze the current reports on the association between sarcopenia and COVID-19 and provide an update on the contribution of sarcopenia to the severity and adverse outcomes of COVID-19 and its underlying mechanisms. We also aimed to explore the different screening tools for sarcopenia concurrent with COVID-19, and advocate for early diagnosis and treatment of sarcopenia. Given that the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic may be long-term, further research into understanding the effects of sarcopenia in patients infected with the Omicron variant is necessary.

Prevalence and Clinical Characteristics of Musculoskeletal Pain in Young Adults with COVID-19: An Observational Cross-Sectional Study from Lanzarote (Canary Island, Spain)

“…According to the study by [3], the lower limbs are the most site of pain due to deconditioning processes that occur during recovery. The cause of this musculoskeletal pain is uncertain, but it is possible that it is associated with COVID-19-induced sarcopenia [22,23]. This condition may be a result of either the virus itself or the secondary hyperinflammatory response that can cause muscle atrophy [1].…”

Covid-19 and Sarcopenia: A bibliometric analysis

“…As a result, many scholars have conducted bibliometric studies on both global Covid-19 (Gupta et al, 2021;Fan et al, 2020) and international sarcopenia research (Suzan et al, 2020;Vaishya et al, 2022;Yuan et al, 2022;Yang et al, 2020;Yang et al, 2023;Wu et al, 2022;Xiao et al, 2022). However, there is no bibliometric study has yet been done on "Covid-19 and Sarcopenia", despite an increase in publications and reviews (Ying et al, 2022;Wang et al, 2023;Xu et al, 2022;Aryana, 2022) in this area. We, therefore, carried out a bibliometric study in this field for the first time.…”

“…Sarcopenia is associated with poor outcomes in COVID-19 cases due to several reasons, like intensive care unit admission, the need for invasive mechanical ventilation, mortality, lengthy hospital stays, and poor rehabilitation. Chronic inflammation, immune dysfunction, respiratory muscle dysfunction, and swallowing dysfunction may be the underlying factors in these cases (Wang et al, 2023).…”

The Long-Term Effect of COVID-19 Infection on Body Composition

“…Studies conducted during and after the pandemic have focused on exploring the relationship between the severity of COVID-19 infection, lockdown, and body composition. Some of these studies have looked at the impact of body composition on COVID-19 outcomes and severity [9] , [10], while others have assessed the risks associated with the pandemic on body composition outcomes after Disclaimer/Publisher's Note: The statements, opinions, and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions, or products referred to in the content.…”