Association of protein consumption and energy intake on sarcopenia in tuberculosis survivors

Tuberculosis (TB) causes undernutrition, and it has a long recovery time after treatment. It is accompanied by adverse health outcomes, such as sarcopenia.

We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of sarcopenia and its association with protein and total energy intakes among Korean TB survivors.

Data of the population-based Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2008-2011) were analyzed, including 9,203 participants aged ⩾ 40 years. We used three definitions for sarcopenia-appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM, kg) divided by body mass index (BMI, kg/m²), weight (kg), or height squared (m²). Daily protein and total energy intakes were estimated with a 24-h recall method. Multiple logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between dietary protein/total energy intake and sarcopenia among TB survivors.

The prevalence of sarcopenia was 11.2%, 10.7%, and 24.3% among TB survivors with sarcopenia defined by ASM divided by BMI, weight, and height squared, respectively. The prevalence of sarcopenia among TB survivors was higher than among those without TB. After adjusting for age, weight, sex, education level, employment status, smoking status, and drinking status, sufficient protein and total energy intakes were associated with a lower risk of sarcopenia in TB survivors.

The prevalence of sarcopenia was higher in TB survivors than in those without TB. We suggest consuming sufficient protein intake along with increasing total energy intake in TB survivors.