Prevalence and Factors Associated with Sarcopenia in Older Adults with Low Back Pain: A Scoping Review

• Published in: Aging Medicine and Healthcare
• Main Author: Amir K.; Embong J.; Razali R.M.; Kuan C.S.; Justine M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Full Universe Integrated Marketing Limited 2024
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85217881824&doi=10.33879%2fAMH.154.2022.12107&partnerID=40&md5=ebfba7c18543883bf60578034d2fdaad

Older adults with low back pain (LBP) are vulnerable to sarcopenia due to pain that limits physical activity. This scoping review was performed to map out the empirical evidence of the prevalence and factors associated with sarcopenia and the outcome measures in older adults with LBP. Literature searches were conducted in the following electronic databases (January 2016 to December 2021): Grey literature, PubMed, MEDLINE, and Cochrane Library. The journal articles were included if written in English, involving human participants aged 50 years and above and diagnosed with LBP with measures focused on specific dimensions of sarcopenia biomarkers. Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method studies were included to consider different aspects of measuring the impacts of sarcopenia biomarkers. Two reviewers screened all the retrieved articles. Data were extracted, organized into themes and sub-themes, summarized, and reported using a narrative synthesis. Ten studies were included from 642 papers screened from the databases. The prevalence of sarcopenia in older adults with LBP was about 13.9% to 54%. Factors associated with sarcopenia can be categorized into non-modifiable (age and gender) and modifiable (body composition, muscle strength, physical performance, back range of motion, disability and quality of life, anxiety, pain and comorbidity) risk factors. The Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia algorithm was the most commonly used measure of sarcopenia. This review revealed a moderate to a high prevalence of sarcopenia among older adults with LBP. The risk factors of sarcopenia were inconclusive due to variations in LBP diagnosis and different measures and cutoff points for defining sarcopenia. © 2024, Asian Association for Frailty and Sarcopenia and Taiwan Association for Integrated Care. Published by Full Universe Integrated Marketing Limited.