Relationship between sarcopenic obesity and metabolic syndrome among Japanese elderly who underwent a comprehensive health checkup

Abstract

 Objective. We assessed the relationship between sarcopenic obesity (SO) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in Japanese elderly.
 Design. Cross-sectional observational study.
 Setting. Comprehensive health checkup center.
 Participants. A total of 235 individuals (95 men and 140 women; mean age, 73.2 ± 6.0 years) underwent comprehensive health checkups and examination of whole-body composition using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Sarcopenia was defined by height-adjusted skeletal muscle mass, cutoff points of <7.0 kg/m² for men and <5.4 kg/m² for women. Obesity was defined by total-body fat percentage, cutoff points of ≥25% for men and ≥30% for women. The diagnostic criteria of MetS defined by the Japanese Society of Internal Medicine were used.
 Main outcome measures. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the risk for MetS associated with SO.
 Results. The prevalences of sarcopenia, obesity, and SO were 20%, 31%, and 18%, respectively. The prevalence of MetS at-risk was 31%, which was significantly higher in men than in women (42% vs. 24%, respectively; p < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that obesity and SO were associated with increased risk for MetS at-risk in the age- and sex-adjusted model (odds ratio [OR] and 95% confidence interval [CI] for obesity: OR, 9.69; 95% CI, 4.13-22.75; for SO: OR, 3.12; 95% CI, 1.23-7.94). After additive adjustments with body mass index (BMI), smoking, drinking, and physical activity, only SO showed a marginally positive association with the risk for MetS at-risk (OR, 3.02; 95% CI, 0.99-9.22).
 Conclusions. SO showed a greater association with the risk for MetS than obesity alone, independent of BMI and other confounders.