Sarcopenia prevelance and relationship with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in adults aged 50 to 65 years

Sarcopenia is a clinical syndrome characterized by progressive loss of muscle strength. Although it is traditionally considered a disease of the geriatric population, it has been shown to occur in early ages as well. Screening for sarcopenia using the SARC-F screening questionnaire and confirmation tests such as determining handgrip strength, bioelectrical impedance analysis, and muscle ultrasound are recommended for identifying those at risk. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and sarcopenia share many common risk factors and their co-occurrence is frequent. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of sarcopenia and its relationship with NAFLD in patients aged 50-65 years. A total of 155 patients (99 female, 56 male) who presented to the General Internal Medicine outpatient clinic of HÜTF were grouped based on their SARC-F sarcopenia screening questionnaire scores and handgrip strengths, and both groups were evaluated separately. In females, low handgrip strength was associated with thiazide diuretic use (p=0.002) and ACEI/ARB use (p=0.036), while in males, SGLT-2I use (p=0.027) and coronary artery disease (p=0.049) were identified as associated factors. The diagnosis of sarcopenia was made by measuring the thickness of the rectus femoris muscle using muscle ultrasound in patients with handgrip strength below 22 kg in females and 32 kg in males. The cutoff values for muscle thickness were determined as 13.5 mm for females and 15.5 mm for males. The prevalence of sarcopenia in the study group aged 50-65 years was found to be 16%. The prevalence of obesity was 48%, and the prevalence of NAFLD was 56%. There were no significant differences observed between genders. However, in individuals with sarcopenia, the use of antihypertensive drugs, obesity, coronary artery disease, osteoporosis, and steatosis shown by hepatobiliary ultrasound (OR: 3.5) were more frequent. Early identification of the at-risk group for sarcopenia and screening using feasible questionnaires and hand dynamometry measurements in outpatient settings are possible and recommended.