Sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity classifications and cardiometabolic risks in older women

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity (SO) with cardiometabolic risk factors in postmenopausal women. 149 volunteers (67.17 ± 6.12 years) underwent body composition assessment using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and had analyzed blood samples collected for lipid profile, glucose metabolism and C-reactive protein (CRP). Sarcopenia was defined as an appendicular fat-free mass (AFFM) divided by height squared ≤5.45 kg/m2 while SO was classified based on the residuals of a regression. Waist circumference (WC) and arterial blood pressure were also measured. Student's t-tests and correlations were used for analyses. Prevalence of sarcopenia and SO were respectively 16.8 and 21.5%. WC was significantly correlated with all the examined risk factors. AFFM relative to height squared was positively correlated with systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), CRP, insulinaemia, HOMA score, and those classified as sarcopenic presented lower HOMA score when compared to nonsarcopenic. Regarding SO, although volunteers classified presented significantly higher fat mass (FM) and lower AFFM, it was not observed association with the examined risk factors. These findings support the association between WC and cardiometabolic risk factors in older women. In contrast, the approaches used to define sarcopenia and SO are not associated with cardiometabolic impairments.