Sarcopenia in older adults: Prevalence and links to depression and physical activity

Table 1 General conditions of both groups

Project	Sarcopenia (n = 62)	Non-sarcopenia (n = 284)	χ2/t value	P value
Age (years)			14.133	0.001
60-70	25 (40.32)	187 (65.85)
70-79	32 (51.62)	86 (30.28)
≥ 80	5 (8.06)	11 (3.87)
Gender			0.078	0.780
Male	25 (40.32)	120 (42.25)
Female	37 (59.68)	164 (57.75)
BMI			33.777	< 0.001
Low body weight	3 (4.84)	2 (0.70)
Normal weight	45 (72.58)	108 (38.03)
Overweight or obese	14 (22.58)	174 (61.27)
Education			0.913	0.339
Primary school and below	47 (75.81)	198 (69.72)
Junior high school and above	15 (24.19)	86 (30.28)
Marital status			0.002	0.961
Married	45 (72.58)	207 (72.89)
Divorced/widowed/single	17 (27.42)	77 (27.11)
Income			2.678	0.102
Unable to afford daily life	5 (8.06)	46 (16.20)
Can afford a normal life	57 (91.94)	238 (83.80)
Living status			0.506	0.477
Living alone	8 (12.90)	28 (9.86)
Living with relatives	54 (87.10)	256 (90.14)
Coronary heart disease			6.494	0.011
Have	22 (35.48)	58 (20.42)
None	40 (64.52)	226 (79.58)
Hypertension			6.029	0.014
Have	35 (56.45)	112 (39.44)
None	27 (43.55)	172 (60.56)
Diabetes			0.133	0.715
Have	8 (12.90)	32 (11.27)
None	54 (87.10)	252 (88.73)
Sarcopenia evaluation index
ASMI (kg/m2)	5.23 ± 0.66	7.49 ± 0.69	23.591	< 0.001
Grip strength (kg)	18.19 ± 8.48	27.64 ± 7.89	8.428	< 0.001
6-m pace (meter/second)	0.61 ± 0.10	0.93 ± 0.22	17.539	< 0.001

Data were showed as n (%) or mean ± SD. BMI: Body mass index; ASMI: Appendicular skeletal muscle mass index.

Table 2 Depression in both groups

Project	n	No depression	Mild depression	Moderate to severe depression	GDS-30 score (points)
Sarcopenia	62	33 (53.23)	20 (32.26)	9 (14.52)	13.11 ± 6.88
Non-sarcopenia	284	218 (76.76)	46 (16.55)	20 (7.39)	9.10 ± 6.36
χ2/t value		14.159			4.224
P value		0.001			< 0.001

Data were showed as n (%) or mean ± SD. GDS-30: 30-item Geriatric Depression Scale.

Table 3 Physical activity levels between both groups

Project	n	Low physical activity levels	Moderate physical activity level	High physical activity level	PASE score (points)
Sarcopenia	62	17 (27.42)	43 (69.35)	2 (3.23)	93.53 ± 39.93
Non-sarcopenia	284	7 (2.46)	243 (85.56)	34 (11.97)	125.24 ± 43.29
χ2/t value		51.046			5.296
P value		< 0.001			< 0.001

Data were showed as n (%) or mean ± SD. PASE: Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly.

Table 4 Univariate logistic regression analysis

Variable	β	SE	Wald	OR (95%CI)	P value
Age (year)
60-70	-	-	1.640	1	0.440
70-79	0.156	0.564	0.076	1.168 (0.357-3.531)	0.783
≥ 80	1.075	1.229	0.766	2.930 (0.263-32.585)	0.382
BMI
Low body weight	-	-	50.061	1	< 0.001
Normal weight	-4.612	6.376	0.523	0.010 (0.001-26.110)	0.469
Overweight or obese	-9.631	6.463	2.221	0.001 (0.001-20.828)	0.136
Coronary heart disease	0.094	0.584	0.026	1.098 (0.350-3.449)	0.872
Hypertension	0.018	0.507	0.001	1.018 (0.377-2.752)	0.972
GDS-30 score	0.205	0.077	7.058	1.227 (1.056-1.427)	0.008
PASE score	-0.094	0.018	27.243	0.911 (0.879-0.943)	< 0.001

OR: Odds ratio; 95%CI: 95% confidence interval; BMI: Body mass index; GDS-30: 30-item Geriatric Depression Scale; PASE: Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly.

Table 5 Multivariate logistic regression analysis

Variable	β	SE	Wald	OR (95%CI)	P value
GDS-30 score	0.495	0.213	5.401	1.640 (1.081-2.490)	0.020
PASE score	-0.027	0.008	10.870	0.973 (0.958-0.989)	0.001

OR: Odds ratio; 95%CI: 95% confidence interval; GDS-30: 30-item Geriatric Depression Scale; PASE: Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly.