Sarcopenia Is Associated with High Pulse Pressure in Older Women

Abstract

Introduction. Sarcopenia is a geriatric syndrome associated with impairment of muscle function, metabolism, and cognition in older women. Recent studies have shown a relationship between changes in muscle mass and the cardiovascular system. However, this relationship has not been fully elucidated. Methods. One hundred and thirty community-dwelling Brazilian older women (65.4 ± 6.3 years) were recruited to participate in this study. Data on body composition (via bioelectrical impedance measurements), cardiovascular parameters (using an automatic and noninvasive monitor), and muscle function (using a 3-meter gait speed test) were measured. Results. Sarcopenic older women (n = 43) presented higher levels of pulse pressure (PP) (60.3 ± 2.6 mmHg) and lower muscle function (0.5 ± 0.0 m/s) compared with nonsarcopenic subjects (n = 87) (53.7 ± 1.5 mmHg; 0.9 ± 0.0 m/s) (P < 0.05). Linear regression analysis demonstrated a significantly negative association between skeletal muscle index (SMI) and PP levels (β = −226, P < 0.05). Furthermore, sarcopenic older women showed a 3.1-fold increased risk of having higher PP levels compared with nonsarcopenic women (IC = 1.323–7.506) (P < 0.05). Conclusion. Sarcopenic older women showed lower muscle function and higher cardiovascular risk due to increased PP levels compared with nonsarcopenic subjects.

Prevalence of sarcopenia in older Brazilians: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…74 Because muscle function is a key indicator of sarcopenia using the EWGSOP recommendation, these findings align with worse performance in gait speed and handgrip strength tests observed in older Brazilians compared with older people from high-income countries. [75][76][77][78] Using DEXA and Baumgartner's criteria with the same cut-off points to classify sarcopenia, prevalence remained at 17.0%, which in turn is similar to the prevalence in the USA (15.0%, mean age 79.0 ± 4.3 years), 79 but lower than in Germany (24.0%, mean age 37 Cross-sectional Community n = 59 MM 5.0% Coelho Junior et al (2015) 38 Cross-sectional Community n = 130 MM 33.0% Costa and Dias (2015) 29 Cross-sectional Hospital n = 20 MM + MF † 65.0% Domiciano et al (2013) 24 Cross-sectional § Community n = 611 MM ‡ 3.7% Dutra (2013) 39 Cross 44 Cross-sectional Community n = 189 MM ‡ 4.8% Gobbo (2012) 45 Cross 62 Cross-sectional § Community n = 562 MM + MF † 20.1%…”

“…A total of 19 studies (60%) identified sarcopenia based only on criteria for low muscle mass, where 15 of those used DEXA to assess muscle mass, and 12 studies used DEXA and Baumgartner's criteria to identify sarcopenia. One study (3%) identified sarcopenia based only on criteria for low muscle function .…”

“…A total of 19 studies (60%) 24,25,30,[37][38][39][40][41]43,44,46,48,49,[54][55][56][57]59,61 identified sarcopenia based only on criteria for low muscle mass, where 15 of those 24,25,37,[39][40][41]43,44,46,[54][55][56][57]59,61 used DEXA to assess muscle mass, and 12 studies 24,25,[39][40][41]43,44,46,55,56,59,61 used DEXA and Baumgartner's criteria to identify sarcopenia. One study (3%) identified sarcopenia based only on criteria for low muscle function.…”

Effects of Multicomponent Exercise on Functional and Cognitive Parameters of Hypertensive Patients: A Quasi-Experimental Study

“…In fact, muscle strength is composed basically of a morphological (i.e., muscle mass) and a neural component (i.e., muscle recruitment) [21, 22]. During aging, several mechanisms (e.g., hormonal, neural, and immunological) lead to marked decrease in muscle mass, muscle atrophy, and muscle strength—dynapenia—collaborating to development of sarcopenic phenotype, which is closely associated with poor prognosis (e.g., increase in sedentary behavior, low functionality, risk of falls, and diseases prevalence) [1, 23]. Maintenance or improvement of muscle strength during aging in response to physical exercise is generally associated with increase in muscle mass [24–26], but not exclusively, once evidences demonstrate increase in muscle strength even in the absence of apparent muscular hypertrophy [27, 28], which occur predominately in response to neuromuscular adaptations [25–28].…”

“…The aging process is a continuous phenomenon accompanied by alterations in some physiological systems, collaborating with the development of geriatric syndromes and chronical diseases, such as hypertension (HTN) [1–3]. In fact, HTN has higher prevalence in older people (~70%), which leads to a poor prognosis in this population because patients with high blood pressure show increased risk for stroke and myocardial infarction [4, 5].…”