Association Between Sarcopenia and Fracture Risk in a Population From the UK Biobank Database

Abstract

Studies on the fracture risk in presarcopenic and sarcopenic patients report contradictory results. The objective was to assess whether presarcopenia and sarcopenia are associated with an increase in fracture risk. We conducted a retrospective study using the UK Biobank cohort and the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People 2 (EWGSOP2) criteria. Muscle strength was evaluated using hand‐grip strength (HGS) and muscle mass using the skeletal muscle index (SMI; from bioimpedance analysis). Presarcopenia was defined through the two definitions available in the literature, as low HGS with normal SMI and as normal HGS with low SMI, and sarcopenia as low HGS and low SMI. Fracture events were recorded as “fracture” (location compatible with an osteoporotic origin) and “major osteoporotic fracture” (MOF), as listed in the FRAX tool. Associations were assessed using Cox proportional hazards models, adjusted for sarcopenia and osteoporosis risk factors. Adjusted hazard ratios (HRa) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) were reported. A total of 387,025 participants (women 54.4%; median age 58.0 years; interquartile range [IQR] 51.0–63.0 years) were included. At baseline, there were 18,257 (4.7%) presarcopenic participants—subgroup 1 (low HGS only), 7940 (2.1%) presarcopenic participants—subgroup 2 (low SMI only), and 1124 (0.3%) sarcopenic participants. Over a median follow‐up of 12.0 years (IQR 11.4–12.6 years), 18,300 (4.7%) participants were diagnosed with at least one incident fracture. Presarcopenic (subgroups 1 and 2) and sarcopenic status were significantly associated with a higher risk of fracture (respectively adjusted HRs: HR = 1.26 [1.19–1.33], HR = 1.20 [1.11–1.30], HR = 1.30 [1.08–1.56]) and with a higher risk of MOF (respectively adjusted HRs: HR = 1.30 [1.21–1.40], HR = 1.19 [1.08–1.72], HR = 1.18 [0.93–1.49]). In a middle‐aged population, the fracture and MOF risks were higher in both presarcopenic and sarcopenic participants compared with nonsarcopenic participants. © 2023 The Authors. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).