Sarcopenic obesity and its association with respiratory disease incidence and mortality

Fanny Petermann-Rocha; Shuai Yang; Stuart R Gray; Jill P Pell; Carlos Celis-Morales; Frederick K Ho

doi:10.1016/j.clnu.2020.03.006

Sarcopenic obesity and its association with respiratory disease incidence and mortality

Clin Nutr. 2020 Nov;39(11):3461-3466. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2020.03.006. Epub 2020 Mar 12.

Authors

Fanny Petermann-Rocha¹, Shuai Yang², Stuart R Gray², Jill P Pell², Carlos Celis-Morales³, Frederick K Ho⁴

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8RZ, UK; British Heart Foundation Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre, Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8TA, UK.
² British Heart Foundation Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre, Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8TA, UK.
³ Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8RZ, UK; British Heart Foundation Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre, Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8TA, UK; Centre for Exercise Physiology Research (CIFE), Universidad Mayor, Santiago, Chile.
⁴ Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8RZ, UK. Electronic address: Frederick.Ho@glasgow.ac.uk.

PMID: 32204975
DOI: 10.1016/j.clnu.2020.03.006

Abstract

Background: Sarcopenic obesity is defined as a combination of sarcopenia and obesity. Previous studies have shown a positive association between sarcopenia and respiratory disease, while other studies have identified that obese individuals have a lower risk for respiratory diseases. This study aimed to investigate the association of obesity, sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity with respiratory disease incidence and mortality.

Methods: Data from 170,083 participants from the prospective UK Biobank study were included. Sarcopenic obesity was defined as the combination of sarcopenia with one of the following obesity criteria: BMI ≥30 kg/m², waist circumference (WC) ≥ 88 cm in women or ≥ 102 cm in men, or the two highest sex-specific quintiles of body fat. Respiratory disease incidence and mortality were the outcomes.

Results: The mean follow-up period was 7.0 years. 5459 (3.2%) participants developed respiratory diseases and 780 (0.5%) died from respiratory diseases. Compared to individuals without obesity or sarcopenia, those who were obese (Hazard Ratio (HR): 1.13 [95 CI: 1.03; 1.23]), sarcopenic (HR: 1.23 [95% CI: 1.10; 1.36]) or sarcopenic obese (based on BMI) (HR: 1.51 [95% CI: 1.30; 1.77]), had a higher risk of respiratory disease incidence. However, the risk of respiratory disease mortality was higher in sarcopenic individuals and lower in obese individuals. No associations were identified between sarcopenic obesity and respiratory mortality (HR: 1.12 [95% CI: 0.76; 1.63]). Similar patterns were found when obesity was defined using WC or body fat.

Conclusion: Obesity, sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity were associated with a higher risk of respiratory disease incidence. However, while obesity was associated with lower, and sarcopenia with higher respiratory mortality risk, no associations between sarcopenic obesity and respiratory mortality were identified.

Keywords: Obesity; Respiratory disease; Respiratory mortality; Sarcopenia.

Publication types

Multicenter Study
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adipose Tissue
Adult
Aged
Biological Specimen Banks
Body Composition
Body Mass Index
Female
Humans
Incidence
Male
Middle Aged
Obesity / complications
Obesity / mortality*
Obesity / physiopathology
Prospective Studies
Respiratory Tract Diseases / complications
Respiratory Tract Diseases / mortality*
Respiratory Tract Diseases / physiopathology
Risk Factors
Sarcopenia / complications
Sarcopenia / mortality*
Sarcopenia / physiopathology
United Kingdom / epidemiology
Waist Circumference

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding