Prevalence of sarcopenia and its association with clinical features and health-related quality of life in Brazilian women with systemic lupus erythematosus

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of sarcopenia and examine its association with clinical features, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), muscle-specific strength and body composition in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods: In this cross-sectional multicentre study, women with SLE (18–50 years old) were included. Data collected included clinical features and HRQoL. Muscle strength was assessed using the handgrip test (kg), appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (ASMI, kg/m²) was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Physical performance was assessed using the timed-up-and-go test (TUG, seconds). Sarcopenia was defined by the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People-2 criteria. The muscle-specific strength was evaluated by dividing their arm strength by their lean arm mass. Pearson’s or Spearman’s correlation coefficients were performed (accepted at p<0.05). Results: Seventy-three SLE women were included, with median (IQR) age and disease duration of 37 (30–44) years old and 10.0 (4.0–16.8) years, respectively. Most of the patients (83.5%) had inactive or low disease activity and 31.0% presented a disease damage index score ≥1. Mean (±SD) handgrip strength, ASMI and muscle-specific strength was 25.58±8.31 kg, 6.62±0.97 kg/m² and 6.6±2.3, respectively. Median TUG was 6.9 (6.1–8.2) s. The prevalence of probable sarcopenia was 11.1%, and sarcopenia was 2.7%. Lower muscle strength, lower muscle-specific strength and lower physical performance, as well as sarcopenia, were correlated with worse HRQoL (p<0.05). Conclusion: In Brazilian patients with SLE with inactive or low disease activity, the prevalence of sarcopenia was low. However, low muscle strength, low muscle-specific strength and low physical performance were correlated with worse HRQoL, emphasising the need for muscle strength assessments in SLE management.