Prognostic assessment of sarcopenia in patients with fractures: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Background Currently, the prevalence of sarcopenia is on the rise. Sarcopenia may significantly affect the prognosis of fracture patients by increasing postoperative complications, diminishing quality of life, and raising mortality rates. This studyaims to investigate the impact of sarcopen...

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Main Authors: Hejie Zheng, Tianhong Wang, Zhuoyang Li, Huimin Lu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-06-01
Series:BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-025-08775-w
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author Hejie Zheng
Tianhong Wang
Zhuoyang Li
Huimin Lu
author_facet Hejie Zheng
Tianhong Wang
Zhuoyang Li
Huimin Lu
author_sort Hejie Zheng
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Currently, the prevalence of sarcopenia is on the rise. Sarcopenia may significantly affect the prognosis of fracture patients by increasing postoperative complications, diminishing quality of life, and raising mortality rates. This studyaims to investigate the impact of sarcopenia on the prognosis of fractures. Methods A systematic search was carried out in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science using the keywords “sarcopenia” and “fracture” from the inception of each database to January 14, 2025. The logarithm and its standard error of the odds ratio (OR) were calculated to assess the effect size. Sensitivity analysis was conducted using a one-by-one exclusion approach. Publication bias was evaluated through funnel plots, Egger’s test, Begg’s test, and the trim and fill method. Results Our pooled analysis of data from 30 studies, comprising 32 datasets, demonstrated that sarcopenia significantly elevated the risk of poor prognosis in fracture patients (OR 1.51, 95% CI 1.24–1.85), particularly, the risk of refracture (OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.36–2.03). In hip fractures, sarcopenia similarly increased the risk of poor prognosis (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.17–1.76), refracture (OR 1.54, 95% CI 1.21–1.96) and poor functional recovery (OR 2.13, 95% CI 1.41–3.21). Conclusion Sarcopenia plays a crucial role as a risk factor for poor prognosis in patients with fractures, including both an elevated risk of mortality, refracture and poor functional recovery. This necessitates that clinical workers place greater emphasis on the identification and diagnosis of sarcopenia in practice, deliver enhanced clinical care tailored to fracture patients, conduct more prospective studies, and advocate for the global standardization of sarcopenia diagnostic criteria in the future.
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spelling doaj-art-feab0f08bd4e4e648258e750950a99fb2025-08-20T03:25:15ZengBMCBMC Musculoskeletal Disorders1471-24742025-06-0126111410.1186/s12891-025-08775-wPrognostic assessment of sarcopenia in patients with fractures: a systematic review and meta-analysisHejie Zheng0Tianhong Wang1Zhuoyang Li2Huimin Lu3Department of Urology, Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of ChinaDepartment of Clinical Research, West China Hospital, Sichuan UniversitySchool of Medicine, Wuhan University of Science and TechnologyCenter of Excellence for Pancreatitis, Institute of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan UniversityAbstract Background Currently, the prevalence of sarcopenia is on the rise. Sarcopenia may significantly affect the prognosis of fracture patients by increasing postoperative complications, diminishing quality of life, and raising mortality rates. This studyaims to investigate the impact of sarcopenia on the prognosis of fractures. Methods A systematic search was carried out in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science using the keywords “sarcopenia” and “fracture” from the inception of each database to January 14, 2025. The logarithm and its standard error of the odds ratio (OR) were calculated to assess the effect size. Sensitivity analysis was conducted using a one-by-one exclusion approach. Publication bias was evaluated through funnel plots, Egger’s test, Begg’s test, and the trim and fill method. Results Our pooled analysis of data from 30 studies, comprising 32 datasets, demonstrated that sarcopenia significantly elevated the risk of poor prognosis in fracture patients (OR 1.51, 95% CI 1.24–1.85), particularly, the risk of refracture (OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.36–2.03). In hip fractures, sarcopenia similarly increased the risk of poor prognosis (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.17–1.76), refracture (OR 1.54, 95% CI 1.21–1.96) and poor functional recovery (OR 2.13, 95% CI 1.41–3.21). Conclusion Sarcopenia plays a crucial role as a risk factor for poor prognosis in patients with fractures, including both an elevated risk of mortality, refracture and poor functional recovery. This necessitates that clinical workers place greater emphasis on the identification and diagnosis of sarcopenia in practice, deliver enhanced clinical care tailored to fracture patients, conduct more prospective studies, and advocate for the global standardization of sarcopenia diagnostic criteria in the future.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-025-08775-wSarcopeniaFracturePrognosisMortalityRefractureMeta-analysis
spellingShingle Hejie Zheng
Tianhong Wang
Zhuoyang Li
Huimin Lu
Prognostic assessment of sarcopenia in patients with fractures: a systematic review and meta-analysis
BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders
Sarcopenia
Fracture
Prognosis
Mortality
Refracture
Meta-analysis
title Prognostic assessment of sarcopenia in patients with fractures: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_full Prognostic assessment of sarcopenia in patients with fractures: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_fullStr Prognostic assessment of sarcopenia in patients with fractures: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_full_unstemmed Prognostic assessment of sarcopenia in patients with fractures: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_short Prognostic assessment of sarcopenia in patients with fractures: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_sort prognostic assessment of sarcopenia in patients with fractures a systematic review and meta analysis
topic Sarcopenia
Fracture
Prognosis
Mortality
Refracture
Meta-analysis
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-025-08775-w
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AT tianhongwang prognosticassessmentofsarcopeniainpatientswithfracturesasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT zhuoyangli prognosticassessmentofsarcopeniainpatientswithfracturesasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT huiminlu prognosticassessmentofsarcopeniainpatientswithfracturesasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis