Sarcopenic obesity and associations with mortality in older women and men – a prospective observational study
Background: The combined effect of sarcopenia and obesity, i.e., sarcopenic obesity, has been associated with disability and worse outcomes in older adults, but results are conflicting. The objectives of this study were to describe the prevalence of sarcopenic obesity (SO) in older adults, and to examine how the risk of mortality is associated with SO and its various components.
Methods: Data were obtained from two Swedish population studies, the Gothenburg H70 Birth Cohort Studies of 521 women and men at the age of 75, and the Uppsala Longitudinal Study of Adult Men (ULSAM), which included 288 men aged 87 years. Sarcopenia was defined using the recently updated EWGSOP2 definition. Obesity was defined by any of three established definitions: body mass index ≥30 kg/m2, fat mass >30%/ >42% or waist circumference ≥88 cm/≥102 cm for women and men, respectively. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve and the Cox proportional hazard model were used for 10-year and 4-year survival analyses in the H70 and ULSAM cohorts, respectively.
Results: SO was observed in 4% of the women and 11% of the men in the H70 cohort, and in 10% of the ULSAM male cohort. The 75-year-old women with SO had a higher risk (HR 3.25, 95% confidence interval (1.2-8.9)) of dying within ten years compared to those with a “normal” phenotype. A potential similar association with mortality among the 75-year-old men was not statistically significant. In the older men aged 87 years, obesity was associated with increased survival.
Conclusions: SO was observed in 4-11% of community-dwelling older adults. In 75-year-old women SO appeared to associate with an increased risk of dying within ten years. In 87-year-old men, the results indicated that obesity without sarcopenia was related to a survival benefit over a four-year period.
Figure 1
This is a list of supplementary files associated with this preprint. Click to download.
Posted 19 May, 2020
On 06 May, 2020
On 05 May, 2020
On 27 Jun, 2019
On 01 May, 2020
On 25 Mar, 2020
On 24 Mar, 2020
On 24 Mar, 2020
On 10 Mar, 2020
Received 07 Feb, 2020
On 04 Feb, 2020
Invitations sent on 04 Feb, 2020
On 02 Feb, 2020
On 01 Feb, 2020
On 01 Feb, 2020
On 16 Dec, 2019
Received 10 Dec, 2019
On 19 Nov, 2019
Received 16 Oct, 2019
On 01 Oct, 2019
Invitations sent on 24 Jul, 2019
On 09 Jul, 2019
On 27 Jun, 2019
On 24 Jun, 2019
On 10 Jun, 2019
Sarcopenic obesity and associations with mortality in older women and men – a prospective observational study
Posted 19 May, 2020
On 06 May, 2020
On 05 May, 2020
On 27 Jun, 2019
On 01 May, 2020
On 25 Mar, 2020
On 24 Mar, 2020
On 24 Mar, 2020
On 10 Mar, 2020
Received 07 Feb, 2020
On 04 Feb, 2020
Invitations sent on 04 Feb, 2020
On 02 Feb, 2020
On 01 Feb, 2020
On 01 Feb, 2020
On 16 Dec, 2019
Received 10 Dec, 2019
On 19 Nov, 2019
Received 16 Oct, 2019
On 01 Oct, 2019
Invitations sent on 24 Jul, 2019
On 09 Jul, 2019
On 27 Jun, 2019
On 24 Jun, 2019
On 10 Jun, 2019
Background: The combined effect of sarcopenia and obesity, i.e., sarcopenic obesity, has been associated with disability and worse outcomes in older adults, but results are conflicting. The objectives of this study were to describe the prevalence of sarcopenic obesity (SO) in older adults, and to examine how the risk of mortality is associated with SO and its various components.
Methods: Data were obtained from two Swedish population studies, the Gothenburg H70 Birth Cohort Studies of 521 women and men at the age of 75, and the Uppsala Longitudinal Study of Adult Men (ULSAM), which included 288 men aged 87 years. Sarcopenia was defined using the recently updated EWGSOP2 definition. Obesity was defined by any of three established definitions: body mass index ≥30 kg/m2, fat mass >30%/ >42% or waist circumference ≥88 cm/≥102 cm for women and men, respectively. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve and the Cox proportional hazard model were used for 10-year and 4-year survival analyses in the H70 and ULSAM cohorts, respectively.
Results: SO was observed in 4% of the women and 11% of the men in the H70 cohort, and in 10% of the ULSAM male cohort. The 75-year-old women with SO had a higher risk (HR 3.25, 95% confidence interval (1.2-8.9)) of dying within ten years compared to those with a “normal” phenotype. A potential similar association with mortality among the 75-year-old men was not statistically significant. In the older men aged 87 years, obesity was associated with increased survival.
Conclusions: SO was observed in 4-11% of community-dwelling older adults. In 75-year-old women SO appeared to associate with an increased risk of dying within ten years. In 87-year-old men, the results indicated that obesity without sarcopenia was related to a survival benefit over a four-year period.
Figure 1