BACKGROUND Sarcopenia, the loss of muscle strength and mass, predicts adverse outcomes and becomes common with age. There is recognition that sarcopenia may occur at younger ages in those with long-term conditions (LTCs) as well as those with multimorbidity (the presence of two or more LTCs), but their relationships have been little explored. Our aims were to describe the prevalence of sarcopenia in UK Biobank, a large sample of men and women aged 40-70 years, and to explore relationships with different categories of LTCs and multimorbidity. METHODS We used data from 499 046 participants in the baseline of UK Biobank. Our main outcome was probable sarcopenia based on maximum grip strength below sex-specific cut-points. Participants' LTCs were recorded during an interview and categorized against a hierarchy. We used logistic regression to examine the independent associations between each category of LTCs and probable sarcopenia, including adjustment for age, sex, and body mass index. We also examined the association with multimorbidity. RESULTS Probable sarcopenia had an overall prevalence of 5.3% and increased with age. The categories with the strongest associations with probable sarcopenia were musculoskeletal/trauma [OR 2.17 (95% CI: 2.11, 2.23)], endocrine/diabetes [OR 1.49 (95% CI: 1.45, 1.55)], and neurological/psychiatric [OR 1.39 (95% CI: 1.34, 1.43)] LTCs. Almost half of the sample (44.5%) had multimorbidity, and they were at nearly twice the odds of probable sarcopenia [OR 1.96 (95% CI: 1.91, 2.02)] compared with those without. CONCLUSIONS We have shown an overall prevalence of 5.3% of probable sarcopenia at ages 40-70 in UK Biobank. The risk of probable sarcopenia was higher in those with some categories of LTCs, suggesting that these groups may stand to benefit from assessment of sarcopenia, during mid-life as well as old age.

中文翻译：

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肌肉减少症、长期病症和多重发病：英国生物银行参与者的发现。

背景技术肌肉减少症（肌肉力量和质量的丧失）预示着不良后果，并且随着年龄的增长而变得常见。人们认识到，患有长期疾病 (LTC) 以及患有多种疾病（存在两种或多种 LTC）的人可能会在较年轻的时候出现肌肉减少症，但他们之间的关系却很少被探讨。我们的目的是描述英国生物银行（大量 40-70 岁男性和女性样本）中肌肉减少症的患病率，并探讨不同类别的 LTC 和多发病之间的关系。方法 我们使用了英国生物银行基线中 499 046 名参与者的数据。我们的主要结果是基于低于特定性别临界点的最大握力，可能患有肌肉减少症。参与者的 LTC 在访谈期间被记录并根据层次结构进行分类。我们使用逻辑回归来检查每类 LTC 与可能的肌肉减少症之间的独立关联，包括对年龄、性别和体重指数的调整。我们还研究了与多发病的关联。结果 疑似肌少症的总体患病率为 5.3%，并且随着年龄的增长而增加。与可能的肌肉减少症关联性最强的类别是肌肉骨骼/创伤 [OR 2.17 (95% CI: 2.11, 2.23)]、内分泌/糖尿病 [OR 1.49 (95% CI: 1.45, 1.55)] 和神经/精神病学 [OR 1.39 (95% CI: 1.34, 1.43)] LTC。几乎一半的样本 (44.5%) 患有多种疾病，与没有患多种疾病的人相比，他们患肌少症的可能性几乎是两倍 [OR 1.96 (95% CI: 1.91, 2.02)]。结论 我们在英国生物库中发现，40-70 岁人群中疑似肌少症的总体患病率为 5.3%。某些类别的 LTC 患者可能患肌少症的风险较高，这表明这些群体在中年和老年期间可能会受益于肌少症评估。