The Characteristic of Muscle Function for Sarcopenia in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Large-Scale Real-World Cross-Sectional Study

<i>Background and Objectives</i>: Sarcopenia is a notable comorbidity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), affecting about one third of patients. However, the characteristic of muscle function and its association with RA disease remains unknown. <i>Materials and Methods</i>: This cr...

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Main Authors: Pei-Wen Jia, Jian-Zi Lin, Yao-Wei Zou, Zhi-Ming Ouyang, Ying Yang, Kui-Min Yang, Liu-Hong Liang, Jin-Yuan Han, Ze-Hong Yang, Jian-Da Ma, Lie Dai
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Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Medicina
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/61/4/551
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author Pei-Wen Jia
Jian-Zi Lin
Yao-Wei Zou
Zhi-Ming Ouyang
Ying Yang
Kui-Min Yang
Liu-Hong Liang
Jin-Yuan Han
Ze-Hong Yang
Jian-Da Ma
Lie Dai
author_facet Pei-Wen Jia
Jian-Zi Lin
Yao-Wei Zou
Zhi-Ming Ouyang
Ying Yang
Kui-Min Yang
Liu-Hong Liang
Jin-Yuan Han
Ze-Hong Yang
Jian-Da Ma
Lie Dai
author_sort Pei-Wen Jia
collection DOAJ
description <i>Background and Objectives</i>: Sarcopenia is a notable comorbidity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), affecting about one third of patients. However, the characteristic of muscle function and its association with RA disease remains unknown. <i>Materials and Methods</i>: This cross-sectional study collected clinical data from a real-world Chinese RA cohort. Sarcopenia was defined as both myopenia and low muscle function (LMF). Myopenia was defined as appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (ASMI) < 7.0 kg/m<sup>2</sup> in men and <5.7 kg/m<sup>2</sup> in women. LMF was defined as low muscle strength (LMS, hand grip < 28 kg in men and <18 kg in women) or low physical performance (LPP, 6 m gait speed < 1.0 m/s). <i>Results</i>: Among 1125 RA patients recruited in this study, 928 RA patients were eligible for analysis. The prevalence of sarcopenia, myopenia, LMF, LMS, and LPP in all RA patients was 36.5%, 46.1%, 69.0%, 57.8%, and 37.1%, respectively. According to their trends in age and disease activity, there were 111 (11.9%) patients in the young (age < 50 years) and remission (CDAI ≤ 2.8) subgroup, 199 (21.4%) patients in the young and active (CDAI > 2.8) subgroup, 198 (21.3%) patients in the old (age ≥ 50 years) and remission subgroup, and 420 (45.2%) patients in the old and active subgroup. Compared with the two remission subgroups, respectively, the young and active subgroup had significantly lower grip strength, higher prevalence of sarcopenia, LMF, and LMS, and worse activity function. After adjustment for potential confounders, multivariate multinominal logistic regression analysis showed that the young and active subgroup was positively associated with sarcopenia (OR = 3.193, 95%CI: 1.477–6.899), LMF (OR = 2.390, 95%CI: 1.207–4.731), and LMS (OR = 3.520, 95%CI: 1.743–7.110). <i>Conclusions</i>: Worse muscle strength, rather than reduced physical performance, is more common in patients with active RA at a young age. It underscores the critical need for early identification and intervention of muscle dysfunction to improve their quality of life.
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spelling doaj-art-0d6dd1b0f64c4e3b89723dbe6e4e5a0c2025-08-20T02:18:19ZengMDPI AGMedicina1010-660X1648-91442025-03-0161455110.3390/medicina61040551The Characteristic of Muscle Function for Sarcopenia in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Large-Scale Real-World Cross-Sectional StudyPei-Wen Jia0Jian-Zi Lin1Yao-Wei Zou2Zhi-Ming Ouyang3Ying Yang4Kui-Min Yang5Liu-Hong Liang6Jin-Yuan Han7Ze-Hong Yang8Jian-Da Ma9Lie Dai10Department of Rheumatology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, 107 Yan Jiang West Road, Guangzhou 510120, ChinaDepartment of Rheumatology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, 107 Yan Jiang West Road, Guangzhou 510120, ChinaDepartment of Rheumatology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, 107 Yan Jiang West Road, Guangzhou 510120, ChinaDepartment of Rheumatology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, 107 Yan Jiang West Road, Guangzhou 510120, ChinaDepartment of Rheumatology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, 107 Yan Jiang West Road, Guangzhou 510120, ChinaDepartment of Rheumatology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, 107 Yan Jiang West Road, Guangzhou 510120, ChinaDepartment of Rheumatology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, 107 Yan Jiang West Road, Guangzhou 510120, ChinaDepartment of Rheumatology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, 107 Yan Jiang West Road, Guangzhou 510120, ChinaDepartment of Radiology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, 107 Yan Jiang West Road, Guangzhou 510120, ChinaDepartment of Rheumatology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, 107 Yan Jiang West Road, Guangzhou 510120, ChinaDepartment of Rheumatology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, 107 Yan Jiang West Road, Guangzhou 510120, China<i>Background and Objectives</i>: Sarcopenia is a notable comorbidity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), affecting about one third of patients. However, the characteristic of muscle function and its association with RA disease remains unknown. <i>Materials and Methods</i>: This cross-sectional study collected clinical data from a real-world Chinese RA cohort. Sarcopenia was defined as both myopenia and low muscle function (LMF). Myopenia was defined as appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (ASMI) < 7.0 kg/m<sup>2</sup> in men and <5.7 kg/m<sup>2</sup> in women. LMF was defined as low muscle strength (LMS, hand grip < 28 kg in men and <18 kg in women) or low physical performance (LPP, 6 m gait speed < 1.0 m/s). <i>Results</i>: Among 1125 RA patients recruited in this study, 928 RA patients were eligible for analysis. The prevalence of sarcopenia, myopenia, LMF, LMS, and LPP in all RA patients was 36.5%, 46.1%, 69.0%, 57.8%, and 37.1%, respectively. According to their trends in age and disease activity, there were 111 (11.9%) patients in the young (age < 50 years) and remission (CDAI ≤ 2.8) subgroup, 199 (21.4%) patients in the young and active (CDAI > 2.8) subgroup, 198 (21.3%) patients in the old (age ≥ 50 years) and remission subgroup, and 420 (45.2%) patients in the old and active subgroup. Compared with the two remission subgroups, respectively, the young and active subgroup had significantly lower grip strength, higher prevalence of sarcopenia, LMF, and LMS, and worse activity function. After adjustment for potential confounders, multivariate multinominal logistic regression analysis showed that the young and active subgroup was positively associated with sarcopenia (OR = 3.193, 95%CI: 1.477–6.899), LMF (OR = 2.390, 95%CI: 1.207–4.731), and LMS (OR = 3.520, 95%CI: 1.743–7.110). <i>Conclusions</i>: Worse muscle strength, rather than reduced physical performance, is more common in patients with active RA at a young age. It underscores the critical need for early identification and intervention of muscle dysfunction to improve their quality of life.https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/61/4/551rheumatoid arthritissarcopeniagrip strengthphysical performancefunctional limitation
spellingShingle Pei-Wen Jia
Jian-Zi Lin
Yao-Wei Zou
Zhi-Ming Ouyang
Ying Yang
Kui-Min Yang
Liu-Hong Liang
Jin-Yuan Han
Ze-Hong Yang
Jian-Da Ma
Lie Dai
The Characteristic of Muscle Function for Sarcopenia in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Large-Scale Real-World Cross-Sectional Study
Medicina
rheumatoid arthritis
sarcopenia
grip strength
physical performance
functional limitation
title The Characteristic of Muscle Function for Sarcopenia in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Large-Scale Real-World Cross-Sectional Study
title_full The Characteristic of Muscle Function for Sarcopenia in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Large-Scale Real-World Cross-Sectional Study
title_fullStr The Characteristic of Muscle Function for Sarcopenia in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Large-Scale Real-World Cross-Sectional Study
title_full_unstemmed The Characteristic of Muscle Function for Sarcopenia in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Large-Scale Real-World Cross-Sectional Study
title_short The Characteristic of Muscle Function for Sarcopenia in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Large-Scale Real-World Cross-Sectional Study
title_sort characteristic of muscle function for sarcopenia in patients with rheumatoid arthritis a large scale real world cross sectional study
topic rheumatoid arthritis
sarcopenia
grip strength
physical performance
functional limitation
url https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/61/4/551
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