Abstract :
[en] Introduction: The association of tobacco use and incidence of muscle impairments has not been extensively
explored in research. In this study, the relationship between smoking and the incidence of sarcopenia
is investigated.
Methods: The present longitudinal study used data from the Sarcopenia and Physical Impairment with
advancing Age (SarcoPhAge) cohort, which includes older adults aged 65 years. All individuals with
follow-up data on muscle health were included in this post hoc analysis. A diagnosis of sarcopenia was
established, at each year of follow-up, according to the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in older
People 2 (EWGSOP2) criteria. A sensitivity analysis was performed using other diagnostic criteria for
sarcopenia. The smoking status and the number of cigarettes smoked per day were self-reported. The
relationship between smoking status or the number of cigarettes smoked per day and the incidence of
sarcopenia/severe sarcopenia throughout the 5 years of follow-up was evaluated using the Cox proportional
hazards model.
Results: In total, the study population included 420 participants, with a median age of 71.7 years (P25
eP75 ¼ 67.7e76.9 years) and 59.8% were female. Over the 5 years of follow-up, 78 participants (18.6%)
became sarcopenic as per the EWGSOP2 criteria and 41 individuals (9.8%) developed severe sarcopenia.
There were significantly more smokers than non-smokers who developed sarcopenia (35.9% vs 16.8%, Pvalue
¼ 0.003). A fully adjusted Cox model confirmed this observation, yielding a hazard ratio of 2.36
(95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.31e4.26), meaning that smokers have a 2.36-fold higher risk of developing
sarcopenia. Furthermore, individuals who smoked had a 2.68 times increased risk of developing
severe sarcopenia (95% CI: 1.21e5.93) than those who did not smoke. Sensitivity analyses globally
confirmed these findings when applying other diagnostic criteria for sarcopenia.
Discussion: Smoking seems to be an important predictor for the onset of sarcopenia, highlighting, once
again, that tobacco use is a major public health problem.
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