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. 2021 Jan-Dec:12:21501327211047781.
doi: 10.1177/21501327211047781.

Body Composition in Community-Dwelling Older Adults Before and After SARS-CoV-2 Infection: A Longitudinal Prospective Study in a Rural Village Struck by the Pandemic

Oscar H Del Brutto  1 , Robertino M Mera  2 , Denisse A Rumbea  3 , Pedro Pérez  4 , Bettsy Y Recalde  3 , Mark J Sedler  5
Affiliations

Body Composition in Community-Dwelling Older Adults Before and After SARS-CoV-2 Infection: A Longitudinal Prospective Study in a Rural Village Struck by the Pandemic

Oscar H Del Brutto et al. J Prim Care Community Health. 2021 Jan-Dec.

Abstract

Background: Information on the body composition of inhabitants of remote communities during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is limited. Using a longitudinal population-based study design, we assessed the association between SARS-CoV-2 infection and changes in body composition.

Methods: Community-dwelling older adults living in a rural Ecuadorian village received body composition determinations before and 1 year after the pandemic as well as serological tests for detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. The independent association between SARS-CoV-2 infection and abnormalities in body composition at follow-up was assessed by fitting linear mixed models for longitudinal data.

Results: Of 327 enrolled individuals, 277 (85%) received baseline and follow-up body composition determinations, and 175 (63%) of them became SARS-CoV-2 seropositive. Overall, diet and physical activity deteriorated during the follow-up. Multivariate random-effects generalized least squares regression models that included the impact of time and seropositivity on follow-up body composition, showed that neither variable contributed to a worsening in body composition. Multivariate logistic regression models disclosed that the serological status at follow-up cannot be predicted by differences in body composition and other baseline covariates.

Conclusions: Study results suggest no increased susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection among older adults with abnormal body composition and no significant changes as a result of worse physical activity and dietary habits or seropositivity during the length of the study. Together with a previous study in the same population that showed decrease in hand-grip strength after SARS-CoV-2, results confirm that dynapenia (and not sarcopenia) is associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in older adults.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; body composition; older adults; population study; rural communities.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Study participant at the time of body composition determinations using the InBody 270. Note the position of the legs, feet, arms, and hands.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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