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Association between Possible Sarcopenia and Fall Risk, Depression, and Quality of Life in Middle-Aged and Older Adults

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 August 2025

Jaisun Koo
Affiliation:
College of General Education, https://ror.org/01r024a98Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Seung Kil Lim
Affiliation:
Department of Health Care Exercise, https://ror.org/00ncqx842 Seowon University , Cheongju, Republic of Korea
Sunga Kong*
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Research Design and Evaluation, SAIHST, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
*
Corresponding author: La correspondance et les demandes de tirésàpart doivent être adressées à : / Correspondence and requests for offprints should be sent to: Sunga Kong, Department of Clinical Research Design and Evaluation, SAIHST, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul 06351, Republic of Korea (sung00kong@skku.edu).

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the associations between possible sarcopenia (p-sarcopenia) and fall risk, depression, and quality of life (QOL) in middle-aged (age ≥ 45 years) and older (age ≥ 65 years) adults. In this study, we analyzed a total of 10,181 men and women aged 45–85 years from the initial survey sample of the 2006 Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging. Among middle-aged men (women) adults, fall risk and depression were 4.09 (1.34) and 2.25 (2.05) times higher in the p-sarcopenia group than in the non-possible sarcopenia (np-sarcopenia) group, respectively (p < 0.05). Middle-aged and older men and women all showed low QOL-related scores, especially middle-aged men and women in the p-sarcopenia group (p < 0.05). Therefore, adequate management of sarcopenia is necessary in both older and middle-aged adults to reduce its burden as a public health concern.

Résumé

Résumé

Cette étude vise à déterminer les liens entre la sarcopénie possible et le risque de chute, la dépression et la qualité de vie chez les personnes d’âge mûr (≥ 45 ans) et d’âge avancé (≥ 65 ans). Nous avons analysé les données recueillies sur un total de 10 181 femmes et hommes âgés de 45 à 85 ans à partir de l’échantillon initial de l’Étude longitudinale coréenne sur le vieillissement de 2006. Parmi les hommes (et les femmes) d’âge mûr, le risque de chute et de dépression était respectivement 4,09 (1,34) fois plus élevé dans le groupe de sarcopénie possible que dans le groupe de sarcopénie non-possible (p < 0,05). L’ensemble des hommes et des femmes d’âge mûr et d’âge avancé affichaient de faibles scores de qualité de vie, en particulier les hommes et les femmes d’âge mûr dans le groupe de sarcopénie possible (p < 0,05). L’étude montre par conséquent qu’une prise en charge adéquate de la sarcopénie est nécessaire tant chez les personnes d’âge mûr que d’âge avancé pour réduire le fardeau de cette maladie sur le système de santé.

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Article
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Canadian Association on Gerontology

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Footnotes

J. Koo and S. K. Lim contributed equally to this work.

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