Body composition and risk factors associated with sarcopenia in post-COVID patients after moderate or severe COVID-19 infections

Abstract

Background Post-COVID-19 syndrome is characterized by diverse symptoms and abnormalities that persist beyond 12 weeks from the onset of acute COVID-19. Severity disease has been associated with more musculoskeletal alterations such as muscle weakness, dyspnea, and distance walking. The aim was to evaluate the impact of invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) on body composition and investigate risk factors associated with sarcopenia in post-COVID-19 patients three months after moderate or severe COVID-19 infections. Methods Cross-sectional study. 530 patients with PCR-confirmed diagnoses of moderate to severe COVID-19, > 18 years old, oxygen saturation ≤ 93%, PaO2/FiO2 ratio < 300, who required hospitalization and were discharged were included. We excluded those who died before the follow-up visit, declined to participate, or could not be contacted. Results The mean age was 53.79 ± 12.90 years. IMV subjects had lower phase angle and handgrip strength and higher impedance index, frequency of low muscle mass, and low muscle strength than those without IMV. The risk factors of sarcopenia were > 60 years of age, diabetes, obesity, IMV, and prolonged hospital stay. The multivariate model showed that age > 60 years (OR: 4.91, 95% CI: 2.26–10.63), obesity (OR: 3.73, 95% CI: 1.21–11.54), and interaction between prolonged length of hospital stay and IMV (OR: 2.92; 95% CI: 1.21–7.02) were related to a higher risk of sarcopenia. Conclusion Obesity and the interaction between prolonged length of hospital stay and IMV are associated with a higher risk of sarcopenia at 3 months after severe or moderate COVID-19 infection.

Gender-Related Effectiveness of Personalized Post-COVID-19 Rehabilitation

“…Previous research showed a negative impact of PCS on body composition, muscle function, and quality of life [27]. In patients with PCS, rehabilitation has improved body composition, not only by increasing skeletal muscle mass but also by reducing fat mass and waist circumference [27,28].…”

“…Previous research showed a negative impact of PCS on body composition, muscle function, and quality of life [27]. In patients with PCS, rehabilitation has improved body composition, not only by increasing skeletal muscle mass but also by reducing fat mass and waist circumference [27,28]. Both the reduction in fat tissue and waist circumference are beneficial in terms of the risk of various chronic diseases, especially affecting the cardiovascular system [29][30][31].…”

No genetically predicted association between sarcopenia and COVID-19

“…Patients in ICU who had COVID-19 were inclined to be diagnosed with sarcopenia, compared to other patients hospitalized for COVID-19 [20,21] . Moreover, the risk of sarcopenia was higher among the patients after severe or moderate COVID-19 infection with prolonged length of hospital stay and invasive mechanical ventilation [22] . However, some studies indicated that sarcopenia was unrelated to mortality of COVID-19 [23,24] .…”

Clinical and Socio-Demographic Variables Associated With Long COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…During 2 years of the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic, scientific researchers have focused on long-term morbidity from COVID-19. Although the scientific community’s understanding of long COVID-19 (LC) is still evolving, and understanding of the diagnoses, phenotypes, and epidemiology is nascent (Bell et al, 2021), LC’s health impacts and symptoms have been assessed by a broad range of studies (Aiyegbusi et al, 2021; González-Islas et al, 2022; Nalbandian et al, 2021). It is suggested that more than 20% of people positive for COVID-19 develop post-COVID-19 syndrome (Iqbal et al, 2021).…”