Open AccessSarcopenia is prevalent in patients with Crohn's disease in clinical remission
Author(s) -
Schneider Stéphane M.,
AlJaouni Rima,
Filippi Jerôme,
Wiroth JeanBaptiste,
Zeanandin Gilbert,
Arab Kamel,
Hébuterne Xavier
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
inflammatory bowel diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.932
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1536-4844
pISSN - 1078-0998
DOI - 10.1002/ibd.20504
Subject(s) - sarcopenia , osteopenia , medicine , osteoporosis , sarcopenic obesity , lean body mass , bone mineral , body mass index , gastroenterology , mass index , urology , body weight
Background: Patients with Crohn's disease (CD) are prone to osteoporosis. A loss of muscle mass, called sarcopenia, is responsible for an increased risk of disability. Many factors associated with osteopenia also decrease muscle mass. The aim of the present study was to measure the prevalence of sarcopenia in CD patients in remission and uncover its relationship with osteopenia. Methods: In all, 82 CD patients (43 female / 39 male; 36 ± 14 years; body mass index [BMI] 21.1 ± 3.4) and 50 healthy volunteers (30F/20M; 39 ± 13 years; BMI 22.2 ± 2.5) were studied. Body composition was assessed using dual‐energy x‐ray absorptiometry. Sarcopenia was defined as an appendicular skeletal muscle index (ASMI) below 5.45 kg/m 2 for women and 7.26 for men. Osteopenia was defined as a T‐score for bone mineral density (BMD) (g/cm 2 ) below −1.0. Results: In all, 60% of CD patients were found to be sarcopenic and 30% osteopenic, compared to 16% and 4% of controls, respectively ( P < 0.01). ASMI was significantly lower in patients than in controls (6.0 ± 1.1 versus 6.5 ± 1.2; P < 0.05). Sarcopenic patients had significantly ( P < 0.01) lower BMI (20.0 ± 3.5 versus 22.7 ± 2.8 kg/m 2 ), lean mass (41.5 ± 9.1 versus 48.1 ± 9.1 kg), and BMD (1.09 ± 0.12 versus 1.15 ± 0.08 g/cm 2 ) than nonsarcopenic patients; 91% of sarcopenic patients were also osteopenic. ASMI correlated with BMD ( r = 0.46; P < 0.01) and BMI ( r = 0.38; P < 0.01). Conclusions: The prevalence of sarcopenia is high in young CD patients and strongly related to osteopenia. These 2 phenomena may share similar mechanisms. Simultaneous screening for sarcopenia and osteopenia may be useful in CD patients. (Inflamm Bowel Dis 2008)