Prevalence and Determinants of Sarcopenic Obesity in Older Adults: Secondary Data Analysis of the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) Wave 1 Survey (2017-18)

Associations between housing quality and sarcopenia among older adults: evidence from China and India

OBJECTIVES

Housing is an important social determinant of health. However, limited studies have focused on the relationship between housing quality and sarcopenia, especially in low- and middle-income countries. This study aims to examine the association between housing quality and sarcopenia in older adults in China and India.

METHODS

The study was based on the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study and Longitudinal Aging Study in India. Housing quality was evaluated by five indicators, including housing materials, water sources, sanitation facilities, main fuel for cooking, and availability of electricity. Housing quality is divided into three types: good (0-1 poor housing indicators), medium (2-3 poor housing indicators), and poor (4-5 poor housing indicators). Sarcopenia was evaluated according to the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS) 2019 Consensus. The logistic regression model was performed to examine the association between housing quality and sarcopenia.

RESULTS

The medium (OR = 1.69, 95%CI = 1.49-1.90) and poor housing quality (OR = 2.19, 95%CI = 1.89-2.54) were associated with sarcopenia in CHARLS. Similar results were also observed in the LASI with significantly higher prevalence of sarcopenia in medium (OR = 1.22, 95%CI = 1.11-1.33), and poor housing quality (OR = 1.60, 95%CI = 1.43-1.79). Moreover, we observed a linear relationship between housing quality and the prevalence of sarcopenia both in CHARLS and LASI (all P for trend <0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Poorer housing quality was associated with a higher prevalence of sarcopenia in older adults in China and India. Housing quality improvement plans such as access to tap water, promotion of clean energy may have a positive effect on reducing the prevalence of sarcopenia.

Associations of pattern-recognition-measured daily activities with sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity in old age: The IMPACT65+ study

BACKGROUND

Physical activity has shown beneficial effects for a good state of muscles in aging, but the specific activities of daily living that could be protective remains unclear. This study aimed to analyse the associations of different pattern-recognition-measured daily activities with sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity in a sample of older adults.

METHODS

200 community-dwelling older adults wore the Intelligent Device for Energy Expenditure and Activity for two consecutive days. Twelve major daily activities recorded were merged in to three common intensity categories: sedentary behaviour (SB), light physical activity (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). For physical performance measurements included, hand grip dynamometer and chair-stand tests were used. Skeletal muscle mass and fat mass were estimated by bioelectrical impedance analysis. Associations of daily activities with the study variables were examined using linear regression models.

RESULTS

There were no significant associations between total time spent in SB, LPA, or MVPA and sarcopenia. Sarcopenic obesity showed a negative association with total time spent in MVPA [ß (95%CI): -0.29 (-0.41, -0.17)]. Walk at a brisk pace was significatively associated with lower limb physical performance, muscle mass and fat mass % [ß (95%CI): 1.15 (0.40, 1.91); 1.45 (0.68, 2.22) and -2.63 (-4.12, -1.14) respectively]. Other MVPA activities were also significatively associated with the same sarcopenic obesity components [ß (95%CI): 4.65 (0.55, 8.75); 8.59 (4.51, 12.67) and -13.98 (-21.96, -5.99) respectively].

CONCLUSION

Time spent in daily activities of moderate-to-vigorous intensity is negatively associated with sarcopenic obesity but not with sarcopenia.

Utility of opportunistic screening to assess the impact of urinary incontinence on quality of life and barriers to seeking treatment among women attending a tertiary healthcare centre in North India

INTRODUCTION

Urinary incontinence (UI) is a common but frequently neglected problem in females, significantly impacting their psychosocial health. The available estimates are an underestimation of a bigger problem. Thus, the study aimed to estimate the prevalence of UI, its associated risk factors, its impact on the Quality of life (QoL), and barriers to treatment-seeking behaviour in women attending tertiary healthcare centres.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional study using an opportunistic screening among women visiting a tertiary care hospital in Punjab recruited using multi-stage systematic random sampling. UI was classified as Stress (SUI), Urge (UUI), mixed (MUI), and No Incontinence (UI less than once a week or a month or no complaints) using the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence Short Form (ICIQ-UI SF). Bivariate analyses were done using the chi-square test to test the association between the dependent and independent variables. The predictors of UI were explored using univariable and multivariable binary logistic regression and depicted using Odds ratio with 95% confidence intervals. The impact of UI on Quality of Life (QoL) was assessed using the Incontinence Impact Questionnaire-Short Form (IIQ-7), and compared among the three UI types using One-Way ANOVA. Treatment barriers were explored using open-ended questions.

RESULTS

Of the 601 women, 19.6% reported UI (stress UI: 10.1%, mixed UI: 6.0%, and urge UI: 3.5%). There were significant clinical-social factors that predicted different types of UI. The UI depicted a significant effect on QoL across all domains of the IIQ-7 (total mean score: 50.8 ± 21.9) compared to women with no incontinence (0.1 + 1.9). The score was highest in women with MUI, followed by SUI and UUI. About two-thirds of the affected women never consulted a doctor and considered it a non-serious condition or a normal ageing process.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study found a high prevalence of UI through opportunistic screening across all the women's age groups with different conditions. Due to the associated stigma, clinicians should make every attempt to talk more about this, especially in women with medical conditions that can precipitate UI. Furthermore, the results call for generating more robust estimates through community-based screening studies.

Is there a ubiquitous association between sleep disorder and frailty? findings from LASI (2017-18)

BACKGROUND

Relatively little is known about how sleep disorders affect frailty of seniors. The study uses Fried's frailty index, to investigate the relationship between sleep disorder and frailty among older Indian adults.

METHODS

The study analysed Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (2017-18) data which uses a multistage stratified area probability cluster sampling design. The association between frailty was studied for which the total sample size was 31,902. The principal dependent variable was frailty. Descriptive statistics and cross-tabulation were presented in the study. A binary logistic regression analysis was used to fulfil the study objectives to find the possible association.

RESULTS

The prevalence of frailty in India was 21.3 percent. Older adults with sleep disorder had 66 percent higher likelihood to be frail than their counterparts. The benefits of physical activity in containing frailty is huge, the association were quite high. Poor Self-rated health was significantly associated with higher frailty (OR = 1.73; CI = 1.47-2.04).

CONCLUSIONS

Frailty is an enormously growing public health issue and has bi-directional relation with sleep disorders. The study has clinical relevance since sleep complaints offer a means for identifying those who are vulnerable to frailty and through appropriate intervention, the causes of sleep disorder would help to delay and in some cases reverse frailty.

Organokines, Sarcopenia, and Metabolic Repercussions: The Vicious Cycle and the Interplay with Exercise

Sarcopenia is a disease that becomes more prevalent as the population ages, since it is directly linked to the process of senility, which courses with muscle atrophy and loss of muscle strength. Over time, sarcopenia is linked to obesity, being known as sarcopenic obesity, and leads to other metabolic changes. At the molecular level, organokines act on different tissues and can improve or harm sarcopenia. It all depends on their production process, which is associated with factors such as physical exercise, the aging process, and metabolic diseases. Because of the seriousness of these repercussions, the aim of this literature review is to conduct a review on the relationship between organokines, sarcopenia, diabetes, and other metabolic repercussions, as well the role of physical exercise. To build this review, PubMed-Medline, Embase, and COCHRANE databases were searched, and only studies written in English were included. It was observed that myokines, adipokines, hepatokines, and osteokines had direct impacts on the pathophysiology of sarcopenia and its metabolic repercussions. Therefore, knowing how organokines act is very important to know their impacts on age, disease prevention, and how they can be related to the prevention of muscle loss.