Comparative analysis of the relationship of sarcopenia or sarcopenic obesity with functional impairment: A cross‐sectional study

TL;DR

This study finds that sarcopenic obesity is linked to greater functional impairment in older hospitalized patients compared to sarcopenia alone.

Contribution

The study provides empirical evidence on the functional impact of sarcopenic obesity versus sarcopenia in older adults.

Findings

Sarcopenic obesity was independently associated with poor functionality by the Barthel Index (OR, 2.9).

SO was also linked to slow gait speed (OR, 3.3).

SO patients had worse function than those with obesity alone but not compared to sarcopenia alone.

Abstract

Growing evidence suggests that sarcopenic obesity (SO) may have a more pronounced effect on functionality compared with isolated sarcopenia, but research in this crucial area remains scarce. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate whether the combination of sarcopenia and obesity is associated with increased functional impairment in hospitalized older adults. This is a cross‐sectional study involving hospitalized older patients. SO was defined as the simultaneous presence of obesity and sarcopenia. Obesity was determined based on a high body fat percentage obtained through bioelectrical impedance analysis, whereas both reduced muscle strength and mass identified sarcopenia. Functionality was evaluated using the Barthel Index and the gait speed test. Additional sociodemographic, clinical, nutrition, and behavioral data were assessed. A total of 176 patients were included in our study. The mean age was 69.8 ± 7.8 years. The frequency of sarcopenia was 37.5%, whereas SO was found in 17.6%. Barthel Index indicated that 64.2% of patients exhibited functional dependency, whereas 87.5% had a slow gait speed. Logistic regression analysis revealed that SO was independently associated with poor functionality by the Barthel Index (odds ratio [OR], 2.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1–8.5) and slow gait speed (OR, 3.3; 95% CI, 1.1–9.8). Patients with SO showed poorer functional capacity compared with those with obesity alone (P < 0.05), but not compared with those with sarcopenia alone (P > 0.05). In conclusion, we observe that SO was associated with diminished functionality but did not elevate the risk compared with sarcopenia alone.