Sarcopenia is defined as the loss of muscle mass and strength that occurs with aging. Although the etiology, pathogenesis, and diagnosis of sarcopenia are obscure, sarcopenia has been suggested to play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of frailty and functional impairment in diabetes. The aim of this article was to provide an overview of the pathogenesis, diagnosis, epidemiology, and clinical implications of sarcopenia and the relationship between diabetes and sarcopenia.
Aging ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Diagnosis ; Epidemiology ; Sarcopenia*

Aged ; Cognitive Dysfunction/epidemiology* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Geriatric Assessment ; Humans ; Independent Living ; Sarcopenia/epidemiology*

In recent, oldest-old adults over 85 years are increasing rapidly. Major geriatric problems such as frailty, fall, osteoporosis, sarcopenia, gait disturbance in this population are higher prevalent and more severe than those in older adults under 85 years. Therefore, strategy to evaluate and manage them with combined medical problems and related impairments should be considered to prepare for super aged society in the near future. We introduced comprehensive geriatric physical performance battery to examine a variety of physical function in multidomains, which can be applied to prescribe exercise, nutrition and medications as single or combined therapy specific to the level of physical function. It would be desirable that modality-specific exercise intervention to prevent from functional decline of oldest-old adults will be integrated with clinical setting. Eccentric biased strengthening exercise is highlighted as an appropriate exercise intervention for sarcopenic oldest-old because of low energy expenditure and utilization of the aged muscle stiffness. Furthermore, specially designed exercise machines enabling them to do exercise are developed for severe deconditioned patients that can't participate in the conventional strengthening exercise. Oldest-old adults are expected to become a major patient group in geriatric medicine sooner or later. Basic principles of management for oldest-old adults are not different from geriatric management of frailty and sarcopenia in general old population. Along with the assessment of the multidomain of physical parameters, multidimensional modality-specific interventions should be developed based on each individual physical profiles.
Adult* ; Aged, 80 and over ; Bias (Epidemiology) ; Energy Metabolism ; Gait ; Humans ; Osteoporosis ; Rehabilitation* ; Sarcopenia

In the early 2000s, the prevalence of diabetes in adults aged ≥30 years in Korea was about 9% to 10%, and it remained stable. However, a nationwide survey showed that this prevalence increased over the past few years. After age-standardization using the Korean population of the year 2010, the prevalence of diabetes in adults aged ≥30 years was 10.0% to 10.8% between 2001 and 2012, which increased to 12.5% in 2013 and 11.6% in 2014. During that period, there have been changes in the gender- and age-specific prevalence of diabetes in Korean adults. The prevalence of diabetes in the elderly population increased significantly, while this prevalence in young adults, especially in young women, did not change significantly. The contribution of each diabetic risk factor, such as obesity, β-cell dysfunction, sarcopenia, and socioeconomic status, in developing diabetes has also changed during that period in each gender and age group. For young women, obesity was the most important risk factor; by contrast, for elderly diabetic patients, sarcopenia was more important than obesity as a risk factor. Considering the economic burden of diabetes and its associated comorbidities, a public health policy targeting the major risk factors in each population might be more effective in preventing diabetes.
Adult ; Aged ; Comorbidity ; Diabetes Mellitus* ; Epidemiology* ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Obesity ; Prevalence ; Public Health ; Risk Factors ; Sarcopenia ; Social Class ; Young Adult

This study was conducted to assess the association between sarcopenic obesity and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in Korean adults (n=3,320; > or =40 yr) who participated in the 5th Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2010. The appendicular skeletal muscle mass divided by body weight was calculated for each participant; participants with values <1 standard deviation below the mean reference value (i.e., aged 20-39 yr) were considered sarcopenic. Subjects were further classified into 4 groups according to their obesity (i.e., body mass index > or =25 kg/m2) and sarcopenic status. Individuals' 10-yr CVD risk was determined using the Framingham risk model. The sarcopenic obese group had more participants (43.8% men, 14.6% women) with a high risk of CVD (> or =20%). The sarcopenic obese group was associated with an increased 10-yr CVD risk than the non-sarcopenic, non-obese group (odds ratio [OR], 2.49; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.53-4.06, P<0.001 in men; OR, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.02-3.41, P=0.041 in women). Sarcopenic non-obese and non-sarcopenic obese subjects were not associated with an increased 10-yr CVD risk. Sarcopenic obesity, but not non-sarcopenic obesity, was closely associated with an increased CVD risk in Korean adults.
Aging ; Body Composition/physiology ; Body Mass Index ; Body Weight ; Cardiovascular Diseases/*epidemiology ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Diabetes Mellitus/epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Muscle, Skeletal/*physiology ; Obesity/*epidemiology ; Risk ; Risk Factors ; Sarcopenia/*epidemiology ; Sex Factors

Sarcopenia, the age-related decline in muscle mass, affects the muscle strength and muscle quality, and these changes decrease functional capacity. The prevalence of thyroid dysfunction increases with age, and changes in thyroid hormone level lead to neuromuscular deficits. We investigated the effects of subclinical hypothyroidism on the muscle mass, strength or quality in elderly people. One thousand one hundred eighteen subjects aged > or =65 yr were randomly selected from a local population and classified into a euthyroid (280 men and 358 women), subclinically hypothyroid (61 men and 75 women), or overtly hypothyroid (7 men and 16 women) group. Although women with subclinical hypothyroidism had a higher prevalence of sarcopenia, defined according to the ratio of appendicular skeletal muscle mass to the square of height, muscle mass, strength or quality did not differ in relation to thyroid status in men or in women. Multivariate analysis including age, diabetes, hypertension, acute coronary event, alcohol, smoking, presence of pain, physical activity score, and lipid profile, showed that thyroid-stimulating hormone level was not associated with muscle mass, strength or quality. In conclusion, subclinical hypothyroidism has little influences on muscle mass, strength or quality, and may not be associated with sarcopenia.
Age Factors ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Diabetes Mellitus/etiology ; Exercise ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension/etiology ; Hypothyroidism/*complications ; Male ; Muscle Strength/*physiology ; Muscle, Skeletal/*physiology ; Questionnaires ; Sarcopenia/complications/*epidemiology ; Smoking

Obesity is a major public health problem. The population is growing older, and the prevalence of obesity in the elderly is rising. In normal aging, changes in the body composition occur that result in a shift toward decreased muscle mass and increased fat mass. This age-related progressive loss of muscle mass and strength is called sarcopenia. Sarcopenic obesity, which describes the process of muscle loss combined with increased body fat as people age, is associated with loss of strength and function, reduced quality of life, and even mortality. The pathogenesis of sarcopenic obesity is complex and involves multiple interactions between lifestyle, endocrine, and immunological factors. Recent epidemiological studies suggest that sarcopenic obesity is related to accelerated functional decline and high risk of diseases and mortality and, therefore, the identification of affected older patients should be an essential goal of clinicians. This paper addresses the definition and epidemiology of sarcopenic obesity and its underlying pathophysiology. In addition, this article describes the clinical significance and management strategies of sarcopenic obesity.
Adipose Tissue ; Aged ; Aging ; Body Composition ; Epidemiology ; Humans ; Immunologic Factors ; Life Style ; Mortality ; Muscles ; Obesity* ; Prevalence ; Public Health ; Quality of Life ; Sarcopenia

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the prognostic significance of changes in body composition in patients with newly diagnosed hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients (n=178) newly diagnosed with HCC participated in the study between 2007 and 2012. Areas of skeletal muscle and abdominal fat were directly measured using a three-dimensional workstation. Cox proportional-hazards modes were used to estimate the effect of baseline variables on overall survival. The inverse probability of treatmentweighting (IPTW) method was used to minimize confounding bias. RESULTS: Cutoff values for sarcopenia, obtained from receiver-operating characteristic curves, were defined as skeletal muscle index at the third lumbar vertebra of ≤ 45.8 cm/m2 for males and ≤ 43.0 cm/m2 for females. Sarcopenia patients were older, more likely to be female, and had lower body mass index. Univariable analysis showed that the presence of sarcopenia and visceral to subcutaneous fat area ratio (VSR) were significantly associatedwith prognosis. The multivariable analyses revealed that VSR was predictive of overall survival. However, in the multivariable Cox model adjusted by IPTW, sarcopenia, not VSR, were associated with overall survival. CONCLUSION: The presence of sarcopenia at HCC diagnosis is independently associated with survival.
Abdominal Fat ; Bias (Epidemiology) ; Body Composition ; Body Mass Index ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Intra-Abdominal Fat ; Liver* ; Male ; Methods ; Muscle, Skeletal ; Prognosis* ; Sarcopenia* ; Spine ; Subcutaneous Fat

BACKGROUND: Several studies have suggested that breastfeeding has a positive effect on long-term obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. This study aimed to examine maternal bone health, muscle mass, and obesity based on breastfeeding duration. METHODS: This study was based on the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2010–2011. We selected 2,027 elderly women by screening survey participants with a history of delivery. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) of sarcopenia, osteoporosis, and obesity among four breastfeeding groups. RESULTS: The OR of sarcopenia significantly decreased with increasing breastfeeding duration (OR, 0.27; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.11–0.65; P for trend <0.001), whereas the OR of obesity significantly increased with increasing breastfeeding duration (OR, 2.56; 95% CI, 1.43–4.60; P for trend=0.009) after adjusting for potential confounding variables. We also found a positive correlation between the duration since last delivery and sarcopenia. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest a negative correlation between prolonged breastfeeding and the prevalence of sarcopenia, and a positive correlation between prolonged breastfeeding and the prevalence of obesity. Further studies are needed to clarify the relationship between breastfeeding and sarcopenia in the future.
Aged ; Breast Feeding ; Confounding Factors (Epidemiology) ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperlipidemias ; Hypertension ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Mass Screening ; Nutrition Surveys ; Obesity ; Odds Ratio ; Osteoporosis ; Prevalence ; Sarcopenia

Sarcopenia was listed in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) as M62.84, on October 1, 2016. Sarcopenia is primarily associated with metabolic diseases, such as diabetes, obesity, and cachexia, as well as chronic renal failure, congestive heart failure, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Sarcopenia is also significantly associated with osteoporosis in elderly populations and the combined disease is defined as osteosarcopenia. Several studies have confirmed that sarcopenia and osteoporosis (osteosarcopenia) share common risk factors and biological pathways. Osteosarcopenia is associated with significant physical disability, representing a significant threat to the loss of independence in later life. However, the pathophysiology and diagnosis of osteosarcopenia are not fully defined. Additionally, pharmacologic and hormonal treatments for sarcopenia are undergoing clinical trials. This review summarizes the epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of osteosarcopenia, and includes Korean data.
Aged ; Cachexia ; Diagnosis ; Epidemiology ; Heart Failure ; Humans ; International Classification of Diseases ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Korea ; Metabolic Diseases ; Obesity ; Osteoporosis ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; Risk Factors ; Sarcopenia