Research Article: Association between sarcopenia and fall history in middle-aged and older adults: a multidimensional clinical analysis of nutritional status, bone health, and medication burden
Abstract:
Sarcopenia has been associated with an increased risk of falls in older adults; however, this association may be influenced by nutritional status, bone health, comorbidity burden, and medication use. This study aimed to investigate the association between sarcopenia and fall history in middle-aged and older adults and to further identify sarcopenia-related components associated with fall history.
This cross-sectional clinical study included 298 middle-aged and older inpatients who underwent sarcopenia assessment, fall history collection, anthropometric measurements, nutritional assessment, laboratory testing, and bone health evaluation. Sarcopenia was diagnosed according to the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 2019 criteria. Fall history was defined as at least one self-reported fall in the past 12 months prior to assessment. Binary logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association between sarcopenia and fall history, with progressive adjustment for age, sex, BMI, number of comorbidities, polypharmacy, Mini Nutritional Assessment total score, and osteoporosis status. Associations between individual sarcopenia-related components and fall history were further examined.
Among the 298 participants, 125 were classified as having sarcopenia and 73 had a history of falls. Participants with sarcopenia had a higher prevalence of fall history than those without sarcopenia (32.0% vs. 19.1%, P = 0.010). In the fully adjusted model, sarcopenia remained significantly associated with fall history after adjustment for age, sex, BMI, comorbidity burden, polypharmacy, nutritional status, and osteoporosis (OR = 3.548, 95% CI 1.682–7.482, P = 0.001). In component analyses, lower appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (OR = 1.948 per 1 kg/m² decrease, 95% CI 1.190–3.191, P = 0.008), low muscle mass (OR = 2.799, 95% CI 1.467–5.340, P = 0.002), and smaller calf circumference (OR = 1.180 per 1 cm decrease, 95% CI 1.049–1.326, P = 0.006) were significantly associated with fall history. Handgrip strength, low handgrip strength, gait speed, and low gait speed were not significantly associated with fall history.
Sarcopenia was significantly associated with fall history in middle-aged and older adults, independent of nutritional status, osteoporosis, comorbidity burden, and polypharmacy. Low muscle mass and smaller calf circumference were the sarcopenia-related components most clearly associated with fall history. These findings support the importance of evaluating sarcopenia-related fall susceptibility.
Introduction:
Sarcopenia has been associated with an increased risk of falls in older adults; however, this association may be influenced by nutritional status, bone health, comorbidity burden, and medication use. This study aimed to investigate the association between sarcopenia and fall history in middle-aged and older adults and to further identify sarcopenia-related components associated with fall history.
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