ASSOCIATION BETWEEN NUTRITIONAL STATUS AND QUALITY OF LIFE AND SARCOPENIA AMONG COMMUNITY-DWELLING IRANIAN OLDER ADULTS: A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY

Background and Aim: Sarcopenia is defined as a geriatric syndrome characterized by progressive and generalized decrease in skeletal muscle mass, strength, and function. Nutritional status is seen as an important pillar of the onset and progression of sarcopenia. This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of sarcopenia and its association between nutritional status and quality of life.Methods: 501 healthy elderly aged 65 years or older participated in this study. Sarcopenia was diagnosed according to the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia(AWGS) guideline. Muscle mass was measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis(BIA), muscle strength by hand dynamometer, and physical function by 4-m gait speed. Nutritional status and quality of life were assessed using Mini-nutritional assessment(MNA) questionnaire and 12-item short form healthy survey(SF-12) questionnaire, respectively. Results: among participants, 104 elderly were diagnosed with sarcopenia which represented a global prevalence of 20.8%. The prevalence of sarcopenia and severe sarcopenia were 11.8% and 2 % in women and 23.6% and 3.9% in men, respectively. Sarcopenic elderly were more often at risk of malnutrition (p<0.001). After adjustment for age, sex, BMI, and smoking in logistic regression, it showed that greater MNA score decreased the risk of sarcopenia significantly(OR=0.88 (95%CI: 0.80-0.97), P=0.014). Subjects with sarcopenia reported lower scores on general health(p=0.03), physical role function(P=0.007) and bodily pain(P<0.001) domains of the SF-12 questionnaire. Conclusion: High prevalence of sarcopenia among Iranian elderly, make this geriatric syndrome a real public health burden in our society. This study underlines the association between sarcopenia and impaired nutritional status and low quality of life.

Keywords:

sarcopenia , elderly , nutritional status , quality of life