Prevalence and risk factors of sarcopenia in patients with stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Stroke is the second leading cause of death and the third-leading cause of disability in the world. The skeletal muscles play a key role in disability following stroke. Although many studies have reported the prevalence and risk factors of sarcopenia in patients with stroke, the results have not been synthesized. This systematic review was conducted to explore the prevalence and risk factors of sarcopenia in patients with stroke. PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Chinese Biomedical Literature (CBM), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Weipu Database (VIP), Wanfang Database were comprehensively searched for studies exploring the prevalence and risk factors of sarcopenia in patients with stroke from inception to October 5th, 2022. This review included 19 studies involving 4148 subjects. The total prevalence of sarcopenia in patients with stroke is 46% (95% confidence interval, CI: 40% to 52%, I² = 94%, P < 0.001). Age (MD = 0.43, 95%CI: 0.06 to 0.81, I² = 88.3%, P < 0.001), stroke duration (MD = 0.20, 95%CI: 0.05 to 0.34, I² = 37.2%, P = 0.189), length of hospital stay (MD = 0.40, 95%CI: 0.20 to 0.59, I² = 0, P = 0.393), pneumonia history (OR = 3.21, 95%CI: 1.98 to 5.20, I² = 0, P = 0.343), female (OR = 1.36, 95%CI: 1.09 to 1.70, I² = 48.7%, P = 0.069), albumin (MD = -0.43, 95%CI: -0.58 to -0.28, I² = 13.7%, P < 0.001), hemoglobin (MD = -0.47, 95%CI: -0.62 to -0.32, I² = 0, P = 0.687) were risk factors for sarcopenia in patients with stroke. The current analysis indicated sarcopenia was common in patients with stroke. Age, low albumin, low hemoglobin, stroke duration, length of hospital stay, and pneumonia history were the risk factors for sarcopenia in patients with stroke. This review will provide evidence for the screening and early identification of high-risk groups and the prevention of sarcopenia to improve the quality of life of stroke patients.