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. 2024 Jul 31;24(1):638.
doi: 10.1186/s12877-024-05216-6.

Sarcopenic obesity and pre-sarcopenia contribute to frailty in community-dwelling Italian older people: data from the FRASNET study

Sarah Damanti  1   2 , Lorena Citterio  3 , Laura Zagato  3 , Elena Brioni  4 , Cristiano Magnaghi  5 , Marco Simonini  3   6 , Rebecca De Lorenzo  1   2 , Mariapia Ruggiero  2 , Simona Santoro  2 , Eleonora Senini  2 , Marco Messina  2 , Giordano Vitali  1 , Paolo Manunta  2   3   6 , Angelo A Manfredi  2 , Chiara Lanzani  7   8   9 , Patrizia Rovere Querini  1   2
Affiliations

Sarcopenic obesity and pre-sarcopenia contribute to frailty in community-dwelling Italian older people: data from the FRASNET study

Sarah Damanti et al. BMC Geriatr. .

Abstract

Background: The ageing process is characterized by a change of body composition with an increase of fat mass and a reduction of muscle mass. Above a certain threshold these alterations configure a condition named sarcopenic obesity (SO). SO is associated with physical frailty in Asian and Brazilian populations. SO impacts on physical frailty in other ethnic groups but its influence on general frailty which is multidimensional and includes cognitive, social and physical factors, remain insufficiently explored in the Italian population.

Methods: Frailty was measured in community dwelling Italian older adults enrolled in the FRASNET study with the frailty index (FI). The FI quantifies frailty as the ratio of the number of present health deficits to the total number of health deficits considered. Regression analyses were performed to assess the association between body composition categories and frailty. Classification and regression tree models were run to evaluate the frailty predictors.

Results: One Thousand One Hundred Fourteen participants of the FRASNET study were included in the present analysis. The sample was composed for the 60.5% by females and its median age was 72 years. The median FI score was 0.11 (IQR 0.07-0.20); 234 individuals (21%) were frail (FI ≥ 0.25). SO (B 0.074, 95% C.I. 0.05-0.1, p < 0.001) and pre-sarcopenia (without obesity B 0.03, 95% C.I, 0.007-0.044, p < 0.001, with obesity B 0.11, 95% C.I. 0.05-0.16, p < 0.001) were associated with frailty. Fat mass percentage predicted frailty in people aged 65-70 years whereas, muscle strength predicted general frailty in people aged 70-81 years.

Conclusion: Pre-sarcopenia and SO represent potentially treatable predictors of frailty.

Keywords: Body composition; Frailty index; Sarcopenia; Sarcopenic obesity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Body composition categories in the study population. Robust no obesity: 425 individuals (38.2%), robust with obesity 28 individuals (2.5%), reduced muscle mass normal strength no obesity 138 individuals (12.4%), reduced muscle mass normal strength with obesity 195 individuals (17.5%), presarcopenia no obesity 173 individuals (15.5%), presarcopenia with obesity 18 individuals (1.6%), sarcopenia no obesity 51 individuals (4.6%), sarcopenia with obesity 86 individuals (7.7%)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Regression tree of the predictors of frailty measured through the frailty index
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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