Table 1.
Characteristics of elderly Korean older than 65 years by presence of sarcopenia
| Variables | Men | Women | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Normal (n=1,190) | Sarcopenia (n=508) | P-value | Normal (n=2,071) | Sarcopenia (n=251) | P-value | |
| Age (yr) | 71.3±4.9 | 73.8±5.4 | 0.006 | 72.3±5.4 | 74.2±6.3 | <0.001 |
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| Weight (kg) | 65.3±8.6 | 56.8±8.8 | <0.001 | 55.8±8.7 | 46.9±6.8 | <0.001 |
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| BMI (kg/m2) | 23.9±2.6 | 20.9±2.7 | 0.232 | 24.5±3.3 | 20.9±2.5 | <0.001 |
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| Appendicular SMI (kg/m2) | 7.9±0.6 | 6.3±0.6 | 0.092 | 6.5±1.0 | 5.0±0.3 | <0.001 |
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| Lifestyle factors (%) | ||||||
| Educationa) | 31.6 | 30.5 | 0.368 | 6.8 | 8.3 | 0.499 |
| Smoking statusb) | 58.2 | 54.1 | 0.312 | 8.6 | 10.9 | 0.245 |
| Moderate physical activityc) | 13.4 | 9.6 | 0.043 | 12.8 | 8.6 | 0.064 |
| Walking physical activityd) | 54.6 | 50.0 | 0.161 | 40.0 | 38.0 | 0.561 |
| Incomee) | 26.1 | 23.0 | 0.302 | 25.4 | 27.5 | 0.711 |
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| Comorbidity (%) | ||||||
| Diabetes | 16.7 | 19.5 | 0.118 | 17.8 | 17.0 | 0.352 |
| COPD | 0.0 | 1.2 | 0.349 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.892 |
| Chronic renal failure | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.010 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.053 |
| Malignancy | 5.2 | 9.6 | <0.001 | 5.6 | 6.4 | 0.641 |
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| Blood biomarkers | ||||||
| PTH | 66.7±28.7 | 69.3±28.5 | <0.010 | 73.1±36.0 | 72.4±55.3 | 0.854 |
| VitD | 22.3±7.6 | 20.8±7.8 | 0.010 | 19.2±7.5 | 18.8±7.4 | 0.512 |
| ALP | 241.1±76.1 | 267.6±91.0 | <0.010 | 258.6±81.1 | 257.6±85.7 | 0.879 |
| Hemoglobin | 14.6±1.2 | 14.1±1.6 | <0.010 | 13.0±1.1 | 12.7±1.2 | <0.010 |
| TG | 142.6±95.5 | 130.4±85.3 | 0.010 | 148.5±86.3 | 137.9±74.8 | 0.010 |
| Fasting glucose | 104.6±26.5 | 105.9±34.2 | 0.375 | 103.2±23.5 | 103.1±32.9 | 0.961 |
The data is presented as mean±standard deviation or percentage distribution of participants as appropriate. Significance was compared between non-sarcopenia and sarcopenia groups using Student’s t-test or Pearson χ2 test. The unweighted sample size is presented in the table, but the results reflect the weighted sample.
Education: percentage of more than middle school graduation.
Smoking status: percentage of current smoke.
Moderate physical activity: 5 or more days of moderate-intensity activity of at least 30 min per day.
Walking physical activity: 5 or more days of walking of at least 30 min per day.
Income: percentage of highest quartile.
BMI, body mass index; SMI, skeletal muscle mass index; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; PTH, parathyroid hormone; VitD, vitamin D; ALP, alkaline phosphatase; TG, triglyceride.