Association between long-term burden of sarcopenia and cardiorespiratory multimorbidity

Sarcopenia, the progressive loss of muscle mass and function, is a common condition in older adults and has been linked to both cardiovascular disease (CVD) and chronic respiratory diseases (CRD). However, the association between long-term changes of sarcopenia and cardiorespiratory multimorbidity remains underexplored. This study aims to investigate how changes in sarcopenia burden over time relate to cardiorespiratory multimorbidity in Chinese adults.

Data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) were used, including 5186 participants aged 45 and older. Sarcopenia was assessed using criteria for muscle mass, strength, and physical performance. Sarcopenia trajectories were identified using group-based trajectory modeling, and associations with cardiorespiratory multimorbidity (CVD and CRD) were assessed using multivariable-adjusted logistic regression models.

The study included 5186 participants with mean age of 58.2 ± 8.4 years. A total of 301 (5.8%) participants experienced cardiorespiratory multimorbidity. Four distinct sarcopenia trajectory groups were identified: persistently low, moderate-to-low, low-to-high, and persistently high burden. Compared to the reference (persistently low group), the low-to-high trajectory of sarcopenia burden had the strongest association with cardiorespiratory multimorbidity (OR: 2.64, 95% CI: 1.73-4.04), followed by the persistently high group (OR: 2.05, 95% CI: 1.46-2.89) and moderate-to-low group (OR: 1.90; 95% CI: 1.38-2.60).

Changes in sarcopenia burden are significantly associated with cardiorespiratory multimorbidity, with a rapid increase in sarcopenia burden (low-to-high trajectory) being particularly detrimental. Monitoring sarcopenia progression and early intervention may be crucial in preventing cardiorespiratory multimorbidity. Further research is needed to explore underlying mechanisms and evaluate interventions.