Association of possible sarcopenia and its components with all-cause mortality in a middle-aged and older population: a 9-year cohort study

The association of possible sarcopenia and its components with all-cause mortality needs further study. This study analyzed the association of possible sarcopenia, handgrip strength and 5-time chair stand test with all-cause mortality in a Chinese middle-aged and older community population. This cohort study included a total of 11,233 participants aged ≥ 45 years from the 2011-2020 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. Diagnostic criteria for possible sarcopenia are based on Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 2019: low handgrip strength or 5-time chair stand test ≥ 12 s. The association of possible sarcopenia and its components with all-cause mortality was assessed by Cox proportional risk models. The results showed that possible sarcopenia was associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality, hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.77 (1.55-2.02), p < 0.001. Both low handgrip strength and 5-time chair stand test ≥ 12 s significantly increased the risk of all-cause mortality, with HRs and 95%CIs of 1.51 (1.18-1.93), P = 0.001 and 1.61 (1.39-1.87), P < 0.001, respectively; when both were present, the risk of all-cause mortality was further elevated, HR and 95%CI 2.54 (2.11-3.06), P < 0.001. Possible sarcopenia and its components are all associated with a higher mortality and it is important to identify these risk factors in primary care.