Sarcopenia, or age-related loss of muscle mass, is an independent risk factor for mortality in patients with diabetic foot ulcers, researchers have found.
Using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, researchers diagnosed sarcopenia in 81 of 217 Chinese wound clinic patients. Tracking over a five-year period revealed age, sarcopenia and high creatinine levels to be the greatest factors contributing to mortality.
But after estimating mortality for patients with each condition, they found survival among those with sarcopenia was significantly lower than non-sarcopenia patients.
“Active prevention and improvement of sarcopenia can potentially improve the survival outcomes of this patient population,” authors from the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University and the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences noted in the April issue of Frontiers in Nutrition.
Sarcopenia is estimated to affect 15% of adults over the age of 60, and 46% of those aged 80 and older. A separate study recently published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that resistance training cuts inflammation in seniors with sarcopenia.
