Air pollution weaken your muscle? Evidence from a cross-sectional study on sarcopenia in central China

As the world experiences a demographic shift towards aging populations, there will be a significant surge in the number of sarcopenia patients, along with an unprecedented expansion in the associated economic burden. The multitudinous risk factors for sarcopenia have been reported, but evidence for air pollution remains rare.

This cross-sectional study employed multi-stage random sampling to select 1592 participants over 40 years of age from Hubei Province. Daily mean concentrations of air pollutants were collected ChinaHighAirPollutants dataset. Unconditional logistic regression models were utilized to investigate the associations between air pollution and sarcopenia.

For each 1 μg/m³ increase in PM_2.5, PM₁₀, SO₂ and O₃, there were corresponding elevations of 11.1% [95% confidence interval (CI): 4.9, 17.7], 4.3% (95% CI: 1.4, 7.2), 22.6% (95% CI: 7.2, 40.1) and 9.3% (95% CI: 0.7, 18.7) in the risk of sarcopenia, respectively. The associations of PM_2.5/PM₁₀/O₃-sarcopenia were more pronounced in females, with corresponding odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs of 1.179 (1.062, 1.310), 1.079 (1.027, 1.135) and 1.180 (1.026, 1.358), separately. Additionally, individuals residing in rural areas were more susceptible to the effects of PM_2.5 and PM₁₀. Current/ever smokers or drinkers were also at higher risk of developing sarcopenia caused by PM_2.5, PM₁₀ and O₃ exposure. Mixture analyses show a surge of 48.4% (95% CI: 3.6%, 112.5%) in the likelihood of suffering from sarcopenia, and the joint impacts of the air pollution were mainly driven by PM_2.5.

Our results produced evidence for a relationship between air pollution exposure and the increased prevalence of sarcopenia in China. Public health and relevant departments should make efforts to prevent sarcopenia, particularly in China experiencing rapid demographic aging.