The Relationship of Sarcopenia with Geriatric Syndromes and Folate

Objective: Folates are essential for healthy cell division, growth and function. With the discovery that folate provides the proliferation and differentiation of muscle cells, the relationship between folate and sarcopenia has attracted the curiosity of researchers. Geriatric syndromes may have a common pathogenesis, as they are considered clinical conditions with common risk factors. Our aim in this study was to investigate the relationship of sarcopenia with geriatric syndromes and serum folate level.Materials and Methods: The study population consisted of 287 patients (202 female) who were admitted to our geriatrics outpatient clinic for the first time and underwent a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) during the one year between January 2018 and January 2019. Demographic information, chronic diseases, drugs used by the participants and their current chronic diseases, CGA results and laboratory findings of patients were recorded. Diagnosis of sarcopenia was made under the guidance of the European working group on sarcopenia in older people 2.Results: Eighty-eight (31%) of the 287 patients were sarcopenic. While age, number of drugs, the frequency of chronic kidney disease and malnutrition were statistically significantly higher in patients with sarcopenia, mini-mental state examination score and serum folate levels were significantly lower (p=0.001, p<0.001, p=0.040, p<0.001, p=0.001, p=0.028; respectively). The result of univariate logistic regression analysis showed that sarcopenia was independently associated with folate [odds ratio: 0.926 (95%) confidence interval: 0.864-0.993, p=0.031]. Serum folate level in patients with malnutrition was also significantly lower (7.12 +/- 4.39, p=0.008).Conclusion: Since sarcopenia is associated with malnutrition, they should be evaluated together. As we found that serum folate levels were lower in patients with both sarcopenia and malnutrition, we recommend that risky groups be supported with folate-rich foods or folic acid supplementation.