The impact of sarcopenia on health-related quality of life in elderly people: Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Background/Aims: The purpose of the study is to investigate the associations between sarcopenia and health-related quality of life in elderly men and women in Korea. Methods: In a cross-sectional study using data from 2008 to 2011 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 4,937 adults aged 60 years and older who underwent a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scan were included in the study. Sarcopenia is defined as an appendicular skeletal muscle index of two standard deviations or more below the mean for young, healthy reference populations. The health-related quality of life was measured using the EuroQol-5 dimension questionnaire. Results: The overall prevalence of sarcopenia was 6.6% in these Korean people over the age of 60 years: 11.1% for men and 3.2% for women. Sarcopenic men tended to have lower income, lower physical activity, lower body mass index, and smaller waist circumference compared with nonsarcopenic men. Sarcopenic women tended to have higher body mass index and larger waist circumference compared with nonsarcopenic women. Sarcopenic men showed higher impairments in mobility, self-care, usual activities, and pain/discomfort compared with nonsarcopenic men. Women with sarcopenia also showed higher impairments in mobility, self-care, usual activities, and anxiety/depression compared with nonsarcopenic women. Sarcopenia showed an association with impairments in selfcare for men, and with impairments in self-care, usual activities, and anxiety/depression for women, after adjusting for other confounding factors. Conclusions: There is a significant association between sarcopenia and impaired health-related quality of life in this elderly Korean population, and these results differ between men and women.