Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Chungbuk National University Hospital, Cheongju, South Korea.
Elderly Frailty Research Center, Department of Family Medicine, College of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea.
Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2020 Jul-Aug;89:104065. doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2020.104065. Epub 2020 Apr 8.
Both sarcopenia and obesity are associated with decreased physical function of the elderly. Sarcopenic obesity (SO), which is the coexistence of sarcopenia and obesity, is expected to have a synergistic effect on physical function deterioration, but previous studies have shown varied results. This study aimed to investigate the impact of SO on the physical function of the elderly.
Community-dwelling elderly subjects (1091 males; 1212 females; 70-84 years) were recruited in South Korea (eight cities). Body composition was measured via dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and physical function was measured by grip strength, timed up and go test, and short physical performance battery (SPPB).
In males, grip strength and the total SPPB score in the SO group were significantly lower than those in the normal or pure obesity groups (p < 0.05). However, physical functions were not significantly different between the SO and the pure sarcopenia groups (p > 0.05). The trend for grip strength in females was similar to that in males, but the total SPPB score of the SO group was significantly lower than that of the other three groups (p < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis after covariate adjustment revealed that SO group males exhibited the highest risk of being in the lower SBBP score category (OR, 2.12; 95 % CI = 1.04-4.31); this trend was more prominent in females (OR, 3.75; 95 % CI = 2.01-7.00).
SO has a synergistic effect on physical function deterioration in the elderly compared with sarcopenia or obesity alone. Additionally, such an effect is more remarkable in females.
肌少症和肥胖均与老年人身体机能下降有关。肌少肥胖症（SO）是肌少症和肥胖症并存，预计会对身体机能恶化产生协同作用，但之前的研究结果存在差异。本研究旨在探讨 SO 对老年人身体机能的影响。
本研究在韩国（8 个城市）招募了 1091 名男性和 1212 名女性（70-84 岁）社区居住的老年人。通过双能 X 射线吸收法测量身体成分，通过握力、计时起立行走测试和简短体能测试（SPPB）测量身体机能。
在男性中，SO 组的握力和总 SPPB 评分明显低于正常或单纯肥胖组（p<0.05）。然而，SO 组和单纯肌少症组之间的身体机能没有显著差异（p>0.05）。女性的握力趋势与男性相似，但 SO 组的总 SPPB 评分明显低于其他三组（p<0.05）。调整协变量后的逻辑回归分析显示，SO 组男性处于较低 SBBP 评分类别的风险最高（OR，2.12；95%CI=1.04-4.31）；这种趋势在女性中更为明显（OR，3.75；95%CI=2.01-7.00）。
与肌少症或肥胖症单独相比，SO 对老年人身体机能恶化有协同作用。此外，这种作用在女性中更为明显。
