Associations between sarcopenia and its developed status with chronic lung disease in the middle-aged and older Chinese people

Background

The relationship between sarcopenia and chronic lung disease (CLD) has not been widely studied. We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) data to investigate the relationship between sarcopenia status and its developed status and CLD in the middle-aged and older Chinese people.

Method

We selected 4444 participants over the age of 45 from CHARLS in 2011. Sarcopenia status was defined according to the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 2019 (AWGS 2019) criteria. CLD was defined as the presence of physician-diagnosed chronic lung disease. We retrospectively assessed their sarcopenia during 2011 and 2013, which were classified into never and newly developed sarcopenia, and these participants were followed from 2013 to 2018.

Results

During the 2011–2018 follow-up, 554 (12.4%) CLD events were identified. The new incidence rate of CLD in the sarcopenia group, newly developed sarcopenia group, low muscle mass alone group respectively 17.9% (54/302), 17.3% (39/226), and 13.8% (80/576). In the longitudinal analysis, individuals with sarcopenia [HR (95% CI): 1.468(1.068–2.017)] (P<0.01), newly developed sarcopenia [HR (95% CI): 1.486(1.031–2.141)] (P<0.05) and low muscle mass alone [HR (95% CI):1.555(1.174–2.059)] (P<0.01) were more likely to have new onset CLD.

Conclusion

Sarcopenia, newly developed sarcopenia, and low muscle mass alone were associated with higher CLD risk among middle-aged and older Chinese adults. Therefore, early prevention and treatment of sarcopenia and avoiding its progression may help decrease the incidence of CLD.