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Published on: March 21, 2021
Prevalence of sarcopenic obesity according to different diagnostic methods and cut-off points in candidates for
Elena González Arnáiz1, Diana Ariadel Cobo1, Brisamar Estébanez2
1Department of Endocrinology and Nutrition, Complejo Asistencial Universitario de León, Gerencia de Salud de Castilla y León (SACYL), Alto de Nava s/n, 24071 León, Spain; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Biomedicine (IBIOMED), University of León, 24071 León, Spain.
Background And Aims:
Sarcopenic obesity (SO) is defined as a combination of low strength and muscle mass along with excess adiposity. Our study aimed to determine the prevalence of sarcopenic obesity in candidates for bariatric surgery, according to ESPEN/EASO criteria using bioimpedance analysis (BIA) and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA).
Methods:
Retrospective study of adult patients (18-60 years) candidates for bariatric surgery (BMI ≥40 kg/m2 or ≥35 kg/m2 with associated complications). Adiposity was assessed by the percentage of fat mass by DXA, according to Gallagher's cut-off points. Muscle strength was measured by hand grip according to Sánchez-Torralvo, Dodds, and <-2SD cut-off points of healthy reference population. Muscle mass was determined by DXA (ALM/weight according to Batsis) and by BIA (SMM/weight according to Janssen and according to reference population). In addition, the agreement of the different diagnostic methods of sarcopenic obesity was analyzed.
Results:
A total of 124 subjects were included in the study, with 71.8 % being women. The overall mean age was 42.6 (SD 8.9) years. SO prevalence was found to be 13 %-22 % applying BIA with the SMM/weight equation according to Janssen, 14 %-23 % utilizing BIA with the SMM/weight equation according to the reference population, and 13 %-23 % employing DXA with the ALM/weight equation following Batsis criteria, depending on the specific hand grip strength cut-off points used. In general, we found good or very good concordances with the different diagnostic methods (with kappa values between 0.6 and 0.97).
Conclusions:
The prevalence of SO according to ESPEN/EASO criteria in candidates for bariatric surgery was 13 %-23 % based on the diagnostic method and cut-off points used.

