| Summary: | Purpose/Background: Sarcopenia (decrease of muscle mass and function) has been linked with atherosclerosis [1]. The EWGSOP2 updated consensus, uses low muscle strength as the primary indicator of sarcopenia [2]. It is acknowledged that strength is better than mass for predicting adverse outcomes [2]. Handgrip strength (HGS) is a simple assessment to estimate overall muscular strength [3]. and is associated with cardiovascular mortality [4].
Objective: Analyze the relationship between HGS and atherosclerotic disease (carotid artery disease + lower extremity artery disease).
Methods: Prospective observation study was conducted from January to December 2019. The clinical and demographic data was recorded. Isometric HGS was measured with an adjustable handheld dynamometer (Jamar The higher value of each arm was used to classify the patient as sarcopenic or non-sarcopenic. Definition of sarcopenia: HGS <30 kgf in men and <20 kgf in women [5].
Results: 94 patients (aged 44–86 years) were analyzed: 64 sarcopenic and 30 non sarcopenic. Groups differed in the prevalence of diabetes and smoking status (Table 1). No differences were found in the carotid parameters analyzed (Table 1). There was, a difference in the prevalence of chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) in sarcopenic versus non-sarcopenic group (23.44% versus 6.67% p = 0.046). Importantly, binary logistic regression showed that diabetes (p = 0.014), and HGS (p = 0.027) have a significant effect on CLTI (Table 2).
Sarcopenia (n = 64)
No Sarcopenia (n = 30)
p
Age (years)
69.81 ± 8.79
62.6 ± 8.61
p = 0.889
Male
47 (73.44%)
27 (90.00%)
p = 0.067
Hypertension
51 (79.69%)
21 (70.00%)
p = 0.301
Dyslipidemia
47 (73.43%)
18 (60.00%)
p = 0.189
Smoking load (UMA)
24.42 ± 33.14
37.76 ± 31.8
p = 0.748
Smoker/Ex-smoker
33 (51.56%)
24 (80.00%)
p = 0.013*
Diabetes
28 (43.75%)
7 (23.33%)
p = 0.049*
Coronary disease
11 (17.19%)
4 (13.33%)
p = 0.613
History of stroke
11 (17.19%)
3 (10.00%)
p = 0.347
Total cholesterol (mg/dL)
158.16 ± 39.82
159.6 ± 30.72
p = 0.22
LEAD
43 (67.19%)
17 (56.67%)
p = 0.275
Claudicants
28 (43.75%)
15 (50.00%)
p = 0.615
CLTI
15 (23.44%)
2 (6.67%)
p = 0.046*
ABI right
0.83 ± 0.24
0.78 ± 0.29
p = 0.287
ABI left
0.81 ± 0.28
0.77 ± 0.23
p = 0.671
Right carotid artery stenosis
50–70
4 (6.25%)
2 (6.67%)
p = 0.952
>70%
58 (90.63%)
27 (90.00%)
p = 0.702
Light carotid artery stenosis
50–70
3 (4.79%)
1 (3.33%)
p = 0.787
>70%
4 (6.25%)
2 (6.67%)
p = 0.903
Area right carotid plaque (mm2)
21.22 ± 19.81
20.01 ± 17.04
p = 0.622
Average IMT- right (mm)
0.96 ± 0.41
0.88 ± 0.24
p = 0.159
Area left carotid plaque (mm2)
21.46 ± 18.73
21.47 ± 22.06
p = 0.948
Average IMT- left (mm)
0.93 ± 0.25
0.88 ± 0.29
p = 0.861
Independent variables
Categories
β
95% CI
p
CLTI
Diabetes
1.488
1.34–14.60
0.014
Higher HGS
−0.888
0.846–0.990
0.027
Conclusions: No relationship was found between sarcopenia (measured by HGS) and carotid atherosclerosis, differing from other authors [1,6]. In this study, sarcopenic had a higher incident of diabetes and CLTI. Sarcopenia and diabetes are reciprocally related and may share a similar pathogenetic pathway [7,8,9].
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