Ethnic Variations in the Prevalence of Sarcopenia and Sarcopenic Obesity in Older Adults

With the recent approval of specific ICD-10 codes for sarcopenia, it is likely there will be increased clinical awareness of and research on this condition. Sarcopenia is the natural age-associated loss of muscle mass and function and often occurs simultaneously with obesity especially in older adults. Sarcopenia and obesity are each risk factors contributing to poor health outcomes, yet the occurrence of both together as sarcopenic obesity can cause even more health complications. Although there may be genetic variability in BMI and possibly body composition, few studies have specifically examined the prevalence of sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity across different racial/ethnic populations. The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence of sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity among older adults in the U.S. by different racial/ethnic groups. 2458 subjects aged 65 or older were identified from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1999–2004 (the dataset from this timef...