Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Jul 6, 2021; 9(19): 5092-5101
Published online Jul 6, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i19.5092
Sarcopenia in geriatric patients from the plateau region of Qinghai-Tibet: A cross-sectional study
Shi-Qin Pan, Yue-Mei Li, Xiao-Fang Li, Rui Xiong
Shi-Qin Pan, Yue-Mei Li, Xiao-Fang Li, Rui Xiong, Department of Nursing, Qinghai Provincial People’s Hospital, Xining 810007, Qinghai Province, China
Author contributions: Pan SQ performed the conceptualization, roles and writing the original draft; Li YM performed the project administration, writing, review and editing; Li XF performed data curation; Xiong R performed the investigation.
Supported by Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, No. 2018PT33001.
Institutional review board statement: This cross-sectional study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Qinghai Provincial People’s Hospital and conducted in compliance with the guidelines stated in the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: The datasets generated and analyzed during the present study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement—checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement—checklist of items.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Shi-Qin Pan, MD, Nurse, Department of Nursing, Qinghai Provincial People’s Hospital, No. 2 Gonghe Road of East Area, Xining 810007, Qinghai Province, China. 289662520@qq.com
Received: February 19, 2021
Peer-review started: February 19, 2021
First decision: March 25, 2021
Revised: April 8, 2021
Accepted: April 20, 2021
Article in press: April 20, 2021
Published online: July 6, 2021
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Sarcopenia is an age-related decline in skeletal muscle mass, which depends on an assessment of muscle strength and muscle mass. It has been reported that the prevalence of sarcopenia in non-hospitalized elderly people was 9.0%-18.5% in the lowland plains. However, epidemiological investigations of sarcopenia in plateau regions are limited. The city of Xining in Qinghai Province (altitude 2260 m) is the sole point of access to the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. We hypothesized that the diverse ethnicities or dietary habits of the people living in the plateau may influence the prevalence of sarcopenia.

AIM

To investigate the prevalence and risk factors of sarcopenia in geriatric patients from the Qinghai-Tibet plateau region.

METHODS

From October to December 2018, 150 hospitalized geriatric patients (72.4 ± 5.60 years) from Xining City (altitude 2260 m) in Qinghai Province were recruited. Collected data included demographics, history of fall, nutritional status, self-care ability, depression, handgrip, muscle mass, and 6-m gait speed. Sarcopenia was diagnosed based on the 2014 criteria of the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia.

RESULTS

The overall rate of sarcopenia was 20% (8.7 and 11.3% in men and women, respectively). Binary logistic regression analysis indicated that widowhood was associated with sarcopenia, while higher body mass index and beef and mutton consumption were protective.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of sarcopenia in hospitalized geriatric patients in the Qinghai-Tibet plateau region was higher than that in the plain region and in non-hospitalized geriatric people (reported elsewhere). Specific cultural features of the region, including ethnicity, brewed tea and ghee consumption, were not significantly associated with sarcopenia. Higher body mass index and consumption of beef and mutton were protective, while patients who were widowed was at increased risk.

Keywords: Geriatric patient, Prevalence, Plateau, Risk factors, Sarcopenia

Core Tip: The prevalence of sarcopenia in hospitalized geriatric patients in the Qinghai-Tibet plateau region is higher than that in the plain region and in non-hospitalized geriatric people (reported elsewhere). Specific cultural features of the region, including ethnicity, brewed tea and ghee consumption, were not significantly associated with sarcopenia. Higher body mass index and consumption of beef and mutton were protective. Widowed patients was at increased risk.