Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Oct 1;29(7):354-362.
doi: 10.1097/RHU.0000000000001913. Epub 2022 Oct 27.

Sarcopenia in Immune-Mediated Rheumatic Diseases-Review

Rafaela Cavalheiro do Espírito Santo  1 , Joshua F Baker  2 , Leonardo Peterson Dos Santos  1 , Mariana Marchezan Menezes da Silva, Ricardo Machado Xavier  1
Affiliations
Review

Sarcopenia in Immune-Mediated Rheumatic Diseases-Review

Rafaela Cavalheiro do Espírito Santo et al. J Clin Rheumatol. .

Abstract

Introduction: Sarcopenia is a condition characterized by decreased muscle strength and muscle mass, which can impact physical function. Sarcopenia develops as a consequence of age-related decline (primary sarcopenia) and has a major impact on physical, social, and emotional well-being. In addition, patients with rheumatic diseases may suffer from sarcopenia independently of aging (secondary sarcopenia). Exercise, pharmacological treatments, and nutritional supplementation are some of the strategies used for the management of sarcopenia in the general population. The aim of this review is to summarize the evidence around the prevalence and impact of sarcopenia in patients with rheumatic diseases.

Conclusions: From our review, we can state that sarcopenia is a common and prevalent condition among the rheumatic diseases. Furthermore, the impacts of sarcopenia are not well-appreciated, and the implementation of treatment strategies has not been widespread. Strategies such as exercise and some pharmacological treatments are effective in improving physical and functional impairment related to these conditions.

Future research directions in the field: New pharmacological treatments are being actively studied and may contribute in the future to the management of sarcopenia.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

    1. Cruz-Jentoft AJ, Bahat G, Bauer J, et al. Sarcopenia: revised European consensus on definition and diagnosis. Age Ageing . 2019;48:16–31.
    1. Fried LP, Tangen CM, Walston J, et al. Frailty in older adults: evidence for a phenotype. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci . 2001;56:146–156.
    1. Lee D, Kim M, Won CW. Common and different characteristics among combinations of physical frailty and sarcopenia in community-dwelling older adults: the Korean frailty and aging cohort study. Geriatr Gerontol Int . 2022;22:42–49.
    1. Cruz-Jentoft AJ, Baeyens JP, Bauer JM, et al. Sarcopenia: European consensus on definition and diagnosis: report of the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People. Age Ageing . 2010;39:412–423.
    1. Cruz-Jentoft AJ, Romero-Yuste S, Chamizo Carmona E, et al. Sarcopenia, immune-mediated rheumatic diseases, and nutritional interventions. Aging Clin Exp Res . 2021;33:2929–2939.

LinkOut - more resources