OBJECTIVES
Sarcopenic obesity is characterized by the coexistence of both sarcopenia and obesity, which may lead to a higher risk of adverse health outcomes than either sarcopenia or obesity alone. This condition may accelerate the progression of vascular diseases, including peripheral arterial disease (PAD). However, there have been few studies on the association between sarcopenic obesity and PAD. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the association between sarcopenic obesity and the risk of PAD.
METHODS
This study included 5,700 participants (2,925 males and 2,775 females) aged ≥40 years from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2004. Obesity was defined as a waist circumference ≥102cm in men and ≥88cm in women, and sarcopenia was defined as an appendicular skeletal muscle mass index at least one standard deviation below the sex-specific mean of the young reference group. Sarcopenic obesity was defined as the coexistence of both sarcopenia and obesity. PAD was defined as an ankle-brachial index <0.9 in either leg. Weighted multivariate logistic regression was used to examine the association between sarcopenic obesity and the risk of PAD.
RESULTS
Sarcopenia (odds ratio [OR] = 1.52; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.08, 2.12) was significantly related to a higher risk of PAD compared with the non-sarcopenia. Furthermore, sarcopenic obesity (OR = 1.61; 95% CI: 1.14, 2.28) was significantly associated with an increased risk of PAD compared with the normal group. In sensitivity analyses, sarcopenic obesity remained significantly associated with a higher risk of PAD in men (OR = 1.95; 95% CI: 1.14, 3.34) and young adults (OR = 3.24; 95% CI: 1.66, 6.30).
CONCLUSIONS
Our study showed that sarcopenic obesity was associated with an increased risk of PAD compared with normal group. These findings highlight the importance of early detection and management of sarcopenic obesity, which may play a key role in preventing PAD.