Prevalence of Sarcopenia and Associated Factors in Chinese Community-Dwelling Elderly: Comparison Between Rural and Urban Areas

Abstract

Objectives: To compare the prevalence of sarcopenia in urban and rural Chinese elderly adults and to identify the risk factors related to sarcopenia.

Design: A cross-sectional study.

Setting: Urban and rural communities in western China.

Participants: A total of 887 community-dwelling elderly adults aged 60 years or older.

Measurement: Sarcopenia was defined according to the recommended algorithm of the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS). Cognitive function, depression, and nutrition status were assessed using the Chinese version of the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE), the Chinese version of the 30-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-30), and the revised Mini Nutritional Assessment short-form (MNA-SF), respectively.

Results: A total of 612 individuals aged 70.6 ± 6.7 years (range, 60-91 years) were included in this study. The prevalence of sarcopenia in the study population was 9.8% (women, 12.0%; men, 6.7%; P = .031). The prevalence of sarcopenia was 13.1% in rural elders and 7.0% in urban elders (P = .012). Age (odds ratio [OR] 1.22; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.15-1.29), women (OR 1.71; 95% CI 1.20-5.65), malnutrition or at risk for malnutrition (OR 3.53; 95% CI 1.68-7.41), rural residence (OR 2.15; 95% CI 1.33-4.51), and the number of medications (OR 1.23; 95% CI 1.06-1.44) were independently associated with sarcopenia.

Conclusions: Rural elders are more vulnerable to sarcopenia than urban elders in a sample of western China's elderly population. More attention should focus on rural populations in future sarcopenia studies.

Keywords: Sarcopenia; older adults; rural community; urban community.