The effect of different measurement modalities in the association of lean mass with mortality: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Predictive factors for one-year mortality after surgery for periprosthetic femoral fracture: A retrospective multicenter (TRON group) study

BACKGROUND

Periprosthetic femoral fracture (PFF) after total hip arthroplasty (THA) or bipolar hip arthroplasty (BHA) represents a challenging situation and the treatment is associated with high rates of complications and mortality. The aims of this multicenter retrospective study were to determine 1-year mortality and to identify predictors associated with mortality, including patient characteristics and surgical factors, in patients undergoing surgery for PFF after THA or BHA.

METHODS

We collected 249 cases of PPF after THA or BHA that were treated in our 11 hospitals (named the TRON group) between January 2010 and December 2019. We excluded patients who were conservatively treated, cases in which the 1-year postoperative outcome was unknown, and Vancouver type A cases. Finally, we analyzed 161 patients. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to identify factors affecting 1-year mortality. Patient-side factors such as age, BMI, fracture type, and preoperative mobility, and surgical factors such as surgical procedure, time to surgery, and operation time were analyzed respectively.

RESULTS

Eighteen of 161 patients (11.2%) died one year after surgery. The multivariate Cox regression analysis identified older age, wheelchair status before injury, and operation time as independent predictors of 1-year mortality (older age: hazard ratio [HR] 1.07, 95% CI 1.01-1.15, P = 0.048; wheelchair status: HR 5.82, 95% CI 1.01-33.47, P = 0.049; operation time: [HR] 1.01, 95% CI 1.00-1.01, P = 0.00929). Meanwhile, fracture type according to the Vancouver classification, body mass index, presence of previous fragility fractures, type of fixation, blood loss during operation, and time to surgery were not independent predictors of 1-year mortality in this analysis. ConclusionThe 1-year mortality rate after surgery for PPFs patients was 11.2%. Factors associated with older and poor activity of daily living (ADL) performance (e.g., wheelchair status before injury), and longer operative time were associated with 1-year mortality after surgery for PPF. Surgeons should carefully plan treatment according to each patient's condition.

The relationships between sarcopenia, frailty, bioelectrical impedance analysis, and anthropometry in patients with type two intestinal failure

INTRODUCTION

SARC-F (Strength, Assistance in walking, Rise from a chair, Climb stairs and Falls) is a validated screening questionnaire for rapidly assessing sarcopenia in older adults with a variety of diseases while the Rockwood clinical frailty scale (RCFS) is a commonly used tool for assessing frailty in older adults. However, there are no data regarding the use of these tools in patients with type two intestinal failure (T2IF). We aimed to compare SARC-F and RCFS to bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and anthropometry in patients with T2IF.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, patients with T2IF admitted to a national U.K. reference centre had SARC-F, RCFS, BIA and anthropometry performed. A SARC-F score ≥4 indicated potential sarcopenia while a RCFS ≥5 indicated frailty. Statistical analyses were conducted to assess correlation, concordance and differences between measurements.

RESULTS

The study comprised 76 patients, of whom 59.2 % were female, with a mean age of 56.5 years ± 16. Seventy percent of patients had short bowel syndrome as an underlying cause of IF. Thirty eight percent of patients had a SARC-F ≥4 and 20 % had a RCFS ≥5. SARC-F was correlated with RCFS (rs 0.43, p < 0.001), phase angle (PA) (rs -0.55, p < 0.001) and hand grip strength (HGS) (rs -0.34, p 0.004). RCFS was correlated with HGS (rs -0.31, p 0.009). Significant differences emerged between PA (p 0.002) and HGS (p 0.003) values in patients with SARC-F scores ≥4 and < 4 and with HGS for patients with RCFS ≥5 and < 5 (p 0.01). Patients with SARC-F scores ≥4 had longer lengths of stays than those with scores <4 (p 0.002). Compared to PA and HGS, SARC-F had sensitivities of 39 % and 37 % and specificities of 92 % and 73 % respectively.

CONCLUSION

We demonstrated SARC-F is correlated with PA and HGS with comparable sensitivity and specificity to its original use in older individuals. There is a role for SARC-F as a means of rapidly assessing muscle quality and function in hospitalised patients with IF with RCFS providing some useful information about muscle function.

Addressing the Main Barrier to Sarcopenia Identification: Utility of Practical Office-Based Bioimpedance Tools Vs. Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) Body Composition for Identification of Low Muscle Mass in Older Adults

Background

Sarcopenia is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Clinically, sarcopenia can be overlooked, especially in obesity. Sarcopenia diagnostic criteria include muscle mass (MM) and function assessments. Muscle function can be readily assessed in a clinic setting (grip strength, chair stand test). However, MM requires dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) Body Composition (BC) or other costly tools, not readily available.

Methods

Observational cohort pilot study of independently mobile, community dwelling older adults, comparing MM using two office-based, direct-to-consumer bioimpedance (BIA) scales (Ozeri® [manufactured in China] and OMRON® [OMRON HBF-510® Full Body Sensor, Shiokoji Horikawa, Kyoto, Japan] to DXA. The OMRON differs from the Ozeri scale because the OMRON also includes hand sensors. The European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) DXA or BIA low MM diagnostic cut-offs were used to classify participants as having low or normal MM.

Results

Fifty participants: 11 men, 39 women. Forty-two completed DXA. Age 75.8 yrs [67-90]. 81% obese based on body fat cut-offs. With DXA [ASM/height2], 15 had low MM. Using BIA [mmass/height2], 7 with Ozeri, and 27 with OMRON, had low MM. Positive predictive value for low MM versus DXA (as the gold standard) for Ozeri was 73.3% and OMRON was 92.8%. Good correlation between BIA scales and DXA for body fat estimates.

Conclusions

OMRON captured all low MM participants identified by DXA plus all on DXA diagnostic borderline. Prevalence of obesity was high. Clinically, sarcopenic obese is the most difficult phenotype, as obesity masks low muscle mass. Low cost, readily available, direct-to-consumer BIA BC scales, especially with hand sensors, provide immediate, reliable information on muscle and fat mass. This can prompt appropriate investigation and/or intervention for sarcopenia or sarcopenic obesity.

Brain alterations associated with overweight evaluated by body mass index or body fat index in an elderly population: the PROOF study

Background/objectives

Obesity is a complex health issue in which the brain plays a role yet to be determined, especially in the elderly. Indeed, in the ageing population, the balance between fat and lean mass is different; thus, the co-influence between the brain and obesity may differ between the elderly and younger subjects. Our main goal is thus to explore the relationship between the brain and obesity using two different approaches to measure obesity: body mass index (BMI) and an index centred on fat mass, the body fat index (BFI).

Subjects/methods

Among the 1,011 subjects of the PROOF population, 273 subjects aged 75 years underwent 3D magnetic resonance imaging as well as dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry to assess fat mass. Voxel-based morphometry was used to explore the local differences in brain volume with obesity.

Results

Higher BMI and BFI were associated with higher grey matter (GM) volume in the left cerebellum. Higher BMI and BFI were mainly associated with higher white matter volume in the left and right cerebellum and near the right medial orbital gyrus. Higher BMI was also associated with higher GM volume in the brainstem, whereas higher BFI was associated with higher GM volume in the left middle temporal gyrus. No decrease in white matter was associated with BMI or BFI.

Conclusion

In the elderly, the relationship between the brain and obesity does not depend on the marker of obesity. Supra-tentorial brain structures seem to be slightly associated with obesity, whereas the cerebellum seems to be one of the key structures related to obesity.

The Effects of Sarcopenia on Hip and Knee Replacement Surgery: A Systematic Review

Sarcopenia is a progressive and generalized skeletal muscle disorder associated with poor outcomes and complications, including falls, fractures, physical disability, and death. The aim of this review is to assess the possible influence of sarcopenia on outcomes of sarcopenia in patients who underwent knee or hip replacement. A systematic review was performed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Medline, EMBASE, Scopus, CINAHL, and CENTRAL bibliographic databases were searched. General study characteristics extracted were: primary author and country, year of publication, type of study, level of evidence (LOE), sample size, mean age, gender, follow-up, type of surgery, diagnosis, and outcomes. At the final screening, five articles met the selection criteria and were included in the review. Sarcopenia influences the Barthel Index (BI), which is significantly lower compared to patients without sarcopenia, which indicates that the patient is subjected to a worsening of this condition that can influence their normal life since they will become dependent on someone else. No difference in mortality rate was found was found between the studies. This systematic review addressed the possible role of sarcopenia in patients undergoing joint replacement surgery. Despite the lack of high-quality literature on this topic, a general trend in considering sarcopenia as a negative factor for quality of life in joint replacement patients was reported. However, the lack of significant results means it is not possible to report useful conclusions.

Ultrasonography for Assessment of Sarcopenia: A Primer

The human skeletal muscle has a pivotal role in preserving health by maintaining mobility, balance, and metabolic homeostasis. Significant muscle loss as a part of aging and accelerated by disease leads to sarcopenia which becomes an important predictor of quality of life in older persons. Therefore, clinical screening for sarcopenia and validation by precise qualitative and quantitative measurement of skeletal muscle mass (MM) and function is at the center-stage of translational research. Many imaging modalities are available, each having their strengths and limitations, either in interpretation, technical processes, time constraints, or expense. B-mode ultrasonography (US) is a relatively novel approach to evaluating muscle. It can measure several parameters such as MM and architecture simultaneously including muscle thickness, cross-sectional area, echogenicity, pennate angle, and fascicle length. It can also evaluate dynamic parameters like muscle contraction force and muscle microcirculation. US has not gained global attention due to a lack of consensus on standardization and diagnostic threshold values to diagnose sarcopenia. However, it is an inexpensive and widely available technique with clinical applicability. The ultrasound-derived parameters correlate well with strength and functional capacity and provide potential prognostic information. Our aim is to present an update on the evidence-based role of this promising technique in sarcopenia, its advantages over the existing modalities, and its limitations in actual practice with the hope that it may emerge as the "stethoscope" for community diagnosis of sarcopenia.

Imaging of Sarcopenia

Sarcopenia is currently underdiagnosed and undertreated, but this is expected to change because sarcopenia is now recognized with a specific diagnosis code that can be used for billing in some countries, as well as an expanding body of research on prevention, diagnosis, and management. This article focuses on practical issues of increasing interest by highlighting 3 hot topics fundamental to understanding sarcopenia in older adults: definitions and terminology, current diagnostic imaging techniques, and the emerging role of opportunistic computed tomography.

Prevalence of sarcopenia in women at stable weight phase after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass

Objective

Evaluating the prevalence of sarcopenia in women submitted to bariatric surgery - Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Design: Observational, cross-sectional study.

Subjects and methods

Women (18-65 years old) who underwent bariatric surgery (BG) ≥ 2 years and reached stable weight ≥ 6 months, were investigated. Control group (CG) comprised non-operated matched women with obesity. Body composition was determined through dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Low lean mass (LLM) was defined as appendicular lean mass index (ALM kg/height m2) < 5.5 kg/m2. Physical strength was assessed through dynamometer and sit-to-stand test (SST), whereas performance was assessed through 4-m gait speed and Short Physical Performance Battery Tests (SPPB). Sarcopenia was diagnosed in the presence of LLM and low strength.

Results

One-hundred and twenty women (60 in each group, 50 ± 9.7 years old) were investigated. All anthropometric and body composition parameters were lower in BG than in CG, whereas strength and performance were similar between groups. Women with reduced strength presented high total fat mass and low physical activity level (p < 0.005). LLM was observed in 35% of BG and in 18.3% of CG (p = 0.04), whereas sarcopenia was diagnosed in 28.3% of BG and in 16.6% of CG (p = 0.12). Sarcopenic women in BG had better performance both in SST (p = 0.001) and SPPB (p = 0.004). Total lean mass (OR:1.41, 95% CI [1.18; 1.69], p < 0.001) and obesity (OR: 38.2 [2.27; 644.12], p < 0.001) were associated with sarcopenia in the multivariate analysis.

Conclusion

Despite great weight loss, sarcopenia prevalence did not increase in BG and its presence was influenced by total lean mass and obesity.

Osteosarcopenia—The Role of Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) in Diagnostics

Osteoporosis and sarcopenia lead to increased mortality, but their early diagnosis allows preventive measures and treatment to be implemented. The dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) method enables the assessment of both bone mineral density (BMD) and bone quality based on the trabecular bone score (TBS), the Bone Strain Index (BSI), hip structure analysis (HSA), and comprehensive hip axis length (HAL). The main complications of osteoporosis are fractures, and a BMD value or T-score together with TBS can be also applied in fracture risk calculation using the Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX). In recent years, the interest in sarcopenia has increased. There are many methods for assessing the quality, quantity and function of muscles. Total body DXA provides information not only about the BMD of the whole skeleton or the amount of lean tissue (identified as fat-free mass), but also about the amount and distribution of adipose tissue. Some parameters obtained from DXA measurements related to muscle and/or fat mass are used in the assessment of osteosarcopenia. The following article presents a wide range of possibilities for the use of the DXA method in the diagnosis of osteosarcopenia because DXA is a useful technique for the diagnosis of bone density and body composition together.