Deciphering the “obesity paradox” in the elderly: A systematic review and meta-analysis of sarcopenic obesity
Publication in refereed journal
CUHK Authors
Full Text
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) |
Times Cited
Altmetrics Information
.
Other information
AbstractAging and obesity are two global concerns in public health. Sarcopenic obesity (SO), defined as the combination of age-related sarcopenia and obesity, has become a pressing issue. This systematic review and meta-analysis summarize the current clinical evidence relevant to SO. PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were searched, and 106 clinical studies with 167,151 elderlies were included. The estimated prevalence of SO was 9% in both men and women. Obesity was associated with 34% reduced risk of sarcopenia (odds ratio [OR] 0.66, 95% CI 0.48–0.91; p < 0.001). The pooled hazard ratio (HR) of all-cause mortality was 1.51 (95% CI 1.14–2.02; p < 0.001) for people with SO compared with healthy individuals. SO was associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and related mortality, metabolic disorders, cognitive impairment, arthritis, functional limitation, and lung diseases (all ORs > 1.0, p < 0.05). The attenuated risk of sarcopenia in elderlies with obesity (“obesity paradox”) was dependent on higher muscle mass and strength. Apart from unifying the diagnosis of SO, more research is needed to subphenotype people with obesity and sarcopenia for individualized treatment. Meanwhile, the maintenance of proper body composition of muscle and fat may delay or attenuate the adverse outcomes of aging.
All Author(s) ListLiu C, Wong PY, Chung YL, Chow SK, Cheung WH, Law SW, Chan JCN, Wong RMY
Journal nameObesity Reviews
Year2023
Month2
Volume Number24
Issue Number2
Article numbere13534
ISSN1467-7881
eISSN1467-789X
LanguagesEnglish-United States
