Sarcopenic obesity defined by Japanese Working Group on Sarcopenic Obesity in post-stroke inpatients: prevalence and clinical implications.

BACKGROUND

Sarcopenic obesity (SO) is characterized by the coexistence of sarcopenia and obesity, associated with adverse health outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of SO as defined by the recently published Japanese Working Group on Sarcopenic Obesity (JWGSO) criteria in post-stroke patients undergoing rehabilitation and its association with activities of daily living (ADL) and length of hospital stay.

METHODS

This retrospective cohort study analyzed stroke patients aged 40-75 years undergoing rehabilitation. SO was diagnosed using JWGSO criteria. The primary outcome was the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) motor score at discharge, with length of hospital stay as a secondary outcome. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to assess associations between SO and outcomes.

RESULTS

The study included 405 patients with a median age of 65 years (IQR 58-71), of whom 60.7% were male. The prevalence of JWGSO-defined SO was 5.4%. Multivariate regression analysis revealed no significant association between JWGSO-defined SO and FIM-motor at discharge (β = 0.015, p = 0.664) or length of stay (β = 0.008, p = 0.828). Sarcopenia alone demonstrated significant negative associations with both outcomes.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of JWGSO-defined SO in post-stroke rehabilitation patients was 5.4%, with no significant association with ADL or length of hospital stay. Sarcopenia alone showed stronger associations with outcomes, suggesting the importance of addressing muscle mass and strength in stroke rehabilitation.