Sarcopenia as an Independent Risk Factor for Specific Cancers: A Propensity Score-Matched Asian Population-Based Cohort Study

Abstract

Purpose: Whether preexisting sarcopenia is an independent risk factor for cancer incidence remains unclear. Therefore, we performed this propensity score (PS)-matched (PSM) population-based cohort study to compare the incidence rate ratios (IRRs) of specific cancers between patients with and without sarcopenia. Patients and Methods: The patients were categorized into two groups according to the presence or absence of sarcopenia, matched at a 4:1 ratio. Results: PS matching yielded a final cohort of 77,608 patients (15,527 in the sarcopenia and 62,081 nonsarcopenia groups) eligible for further analysis. In our multivariate Cox regression analysis, compared with the nonsarcopenia group, the adjusted hazard ratio (aHR; 95% confidence interval (CI)) for cancer risk in the sarcopenia group was 1.277 (1.10 to 1.36; p < 0.001). Furthermore, the adjusted IRRs (95% CIs) for sarcopenia patients were pancreatic cancer 3.77 (1.79 to 4.01), esophageal cancer 3.38 (1.87 to 4.11), lung cancer 2.66 (1.15 to 2.90), gastric cancer 2.25 (1.54 to 3.23), head and neck cancer 2.15 (1.44 to 2.53), colorectal cancer 2.04 (1.77 to 2.30), hepatocellular carcinoma 1.84 (1.30 to 2.36), breast cancer 1.56 (1.12 to 1.95), and ovarian cancer 1.43 (1.10 to 2.29), respectively. Conclusions: Sarcopenia might be a significant cancer risk factor for lung, colorectal, breast, head and neck, pancreas, gastric, esophageal, and ovarian cancer, as well as hepatocellular carcinoma.

Sarcopenia Is an Independent Risk Factor for Severe Diabetic Nephropathy in Type 2 Diabetes: A Long-Term Follow-Up Propensity Score–Matched Diabetes Cohort Study

“…Patients with CKD or ESKD diagnosed before diabetes diagnosis were excluded from the cohorts. We defined sarcopenia according to the previous study from the Taiwan NHIRD [ 24 ]. In order to diminish the selection bias of the definition of sarcopenia, we only recorded the sarcopenia from rehabilitation specialists, orthopedics, or family physicians.…”

Effect of Sarcopenia on Mortality in Type 2 Diabetes: A Long-Term Follow-Up Propensity Score-Matched Diabetes Cohort Study

“…The inclusion and exclusion criteria and flow diagram for the selection procedure of the participants are presented as Supplemental Figure S1 . Our definition of sarcopenia is according to the previous study from the Taiwan NHIRD [ 21 ]. In order to diminish the selection bias of the definition of sarcopenia, we only recorded the sarcopenia from the rehabilitation specialists, orthopedics, or family physicians.…”

Comparison of surgical complications after curative surgery in patients with oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma and sarcopenia

“…In October 2016, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention formally recognized sarcopenia as a disease and coded it as M62.84 in ICD‐10‐CM 10 . We defined sarcopenia according to the ICD‐10‐CM code M62.84 after 2016 11 . At least two claims for patients with a principal diagnosis of sarcopenia within the 12‐month preoperative period were defined as the criteria for sarcopenia diagnosis.…”

“… 10 We defined sarcopenia according to the ICD‐10‐CM code M62.84 after 2016. 11 At least two claims for patients with a principal diagnosis of sarcopenia within the 12‐month preoperative period were defined as the criteria for sarcopenia diagnosis. In Taiwan, sarcopenia was defined as the skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) of 2 standard deviations ( SD s) or more below the normal sex‐specific means for young persons.…”