Visceral fat thickness may be useful in determining sarcopenia

Abstract

Background/Purpose: In our study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between visceral fat thickness (VFT) with skeletal muscle mass and sarcopenia. We also aimed to investigate whether or not VFT can be used to determine sarcopenia. Methods: A total of 103 patients, 70 women and 33 men, who applied to the geriatric outpatient clinic were included in the study. VFT and skeletal muscle mass of the patients were measured by ultrasonography (USG) and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Participants were divided into two groups as sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic. Results: The mean age were 75.23 ±6.95 years. In our study, there was a positive correlation between skeletal muscle index (SMI) with VFT (r: 0.356, p <0.001) and, a relation was found between low VFT and sarcopenia independent of age, gender, Katz activities of daily living (ADL) and mini nutritional assessment (MNA) (OR: 0.906 (0.855-0.961)). The optimal cut-off value of VFT to predict sarcopenia was measured as ≤24.97 mm for females, with 92% sensitivity and 70% specifity (AUC, 0.834; 95% CI, 0.714-0.953) and as ≤22.57 mm for males, with 89% sensitivity and 80% specifity (AUC, 0.921; 95% CI, 0.825-1.000). Conclusion: There was a positive relationship between skeletal muscle mass and VFT. VFT can be used as an alternative method for determining sarcopenia.