• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.164-171
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• 2023

Objectives: Sarcopenia has emerged as a significant aging-related disease that affects many facets of societal-level and patient-level public health. This study analysed knowledge of sarcopenia and associated socio-demographic factors among the general public of Malaysia in order to effectively improve its prevention and countermeasures. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in Selangor, Malaysia, using Google Forms among 202 Malaysian adults from January 1, 2021 to March 31, 2021. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the socio-demographic characteristics and knowledge scores. The continuous variables were evaluated using the independent t-test, Mann-Whitney test, and one-way analysis of variance test. The Spearman correlation coefficient was employed to determine the correlation between socio-demographic characteristics and knowledge score levels. Results: The final analysis included 202 participants. The mean±standard deviation age was 49.03±12.65. Only 6.9% of participants had good knowledge of sarcopenia and were aware of sarcopenia's characteristics, consequences, and treatments. Post-hoc comparisons using the Dunnett T3 test showed statistical significance in mean knowledge score and age group (p=0.011) and education level (p≤0.001). The Mann-Whitney test revealed that gender (p=0.026) and current smoking status (p=0.023) significantly influenced knowledge scores. Conclusions: The general public's knowledge of sarcopenia was found to be poor to moderate and associated with age and education status. Therefore, education and interventions by policymakers and healthcare professionals to improve public knowledge of sarcopenia in Malaysia are needed.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.129-140
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• 2023

Purpose : This study was conducted to investigate and analyze the physical health of older Koreans with sarcopenia and locomotive syndrome and identify the related factors. Methods : In this study, the sarcopenia and locomotive syndrome evaluations were applied to 210 elderly people, and the sarcopenia group was 36, the locomotive syndrome group was 164, and the normal group was 10. After group selection, a physical health status survey was conducted. The physical health status was assessed via body composition analysis, physical characteristics survey including measurement of waist and calf circumference, investigation of diseases currently being diagnosed by a doctor, and frailty measurements. The collected data were statistically analyzed using one-way ANOVA, the Kruskal-Wallis test, and the Chi-square test. Results : There were significant differences between groups in all elements of physical characteristics including body mass index, waist circumference, and calf circumference. Among them, a consistent result was found that the normal group had the largest amount of muscle mass and the sarcopenia group had the least amount of muscle mass in the factors related to muscle mass. However, the factors relating to fat mass and obesity also showed significant differences between the groups, but the results were not consistent. Considering the group differences in current diseases, a significant difference was only detected for osteoporosis among 12 diseases. Moreover, those in the sarcopenia group had the highest rate of osteoporosis. And there was no significant difference between the groups in the total score of the frailty measurement, but there was a significant difference between the groups in the frailty measurement levels. Conclusion : This study on physical health status confirmed that muscle mass-related factors, osteoporosis, and frailty levels were significantly related to sarcopenia and locomotive syndrome.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.1118-1138
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• 2023

Objectives: Sarcopenia is an age-associated skeletal muscle disorder that can profoundly impact the health of elderly people. However, the efficacy of herbal medicine in sarcopenia is uncertain. This review aims to investigate evidence of the effect of herbal medicine on sarcopenia. Methods: We systematically searched 12 electronic databases for relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Only trials that met the inclusion criteria were selected, and the characteristics of the included studies were extracted and synthesized in a narrative manner. The quality of the included studies was assessed using Cochrane's Risk of Bias (RoB) 2.0 tool. Results: 7 RCTs involving 672 participants with sarcopenia met the inclusion criteria. The intervention combining herbal medicine and conventional treatment (i.e., exercise, nutritional support) had a significant therapeutic effect compared with the conventional treatment, showing improvement in muscle strength (i.e., grip strength), muscle mass (i.e., appendicular skeletal muscle mass index), and physical function (i.e., gait speed, short physical performance battery, and timed up and go test). However, the methodological quality of the included RCTs was relatively low due to their high RoB, making it difficult to evaluate the efficacy of herbal medicine in sarcopenia. In terms of safety, several adverse events were reported. Conclusion: This review suggests that herbal medicine has a positive effect on muscle strength, muscle mass, and physical performance in elderly patients with sarcopenia, but there is a clear need for further research in this area.

• BMB Reports
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.64-69
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• 2019

The loss of skeletal muscle, called sarcopenia, is an inevitable event during the aging process, and significantly impacts quality of life. Autophagy is known to reduce muscle atrophy caused by dysfunctional organelles, even though the molecular mechanism remains unclear. Here, we have discuss the current understanding of exercise-induced autophagy activation in skeletal muscle regeneration and remodeling, leading to sarcopenia intervention. With aging, dysregulation of autophagy flux inhibits lysosomal storage processes involved in muscle biogenesis. AMPK-ULK1 and the $FoxO/PGC-1{\alpha}$ signaling pathways play a critical role in the induction of autophagy machinery in skeletal muscle, thus these pathways could be targets for therapeutics development. Autophagy has been also shown to be a critical regulator of stem cell fate, which determines satellite cell differentiation into muscle fiber, thereby increasing muscle mass. This review aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the physiological role of autophagy in skeletal muscle aging and sarcopenia.

• Journal of Sport and Applied Science
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.1-8
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• 2021

Purpose: Sarcopenia is defined as a decrease in muscle mass, strength, and function with age that affects overall body function. We aimed to investigate the effect of combined training on body composition, balance, and muscle function in sarcopenia elderly. Research design, data, and methodology: Twenty-eight sarcopenia elderly (age 74.9±4.5 years) were randomly assigned to an exercise, EG (n=14), or a control, CG (n=14), group. The EG performed an intervention consisting of combined exercise training (60-75 min) for a total of 12 weeks, three times a week. The CG maintained their usual daily lifestyle during the intervention period. We measured body weight, body mass index (BMI), % body fat, free fat mass, balance ability, peak torque in shoulder, knee, and lumbar joints normalized for bodyweight in one second. Results: The EG showed improved body composition (i.e., BMI, fat-free body mass, fat mass; all p < 0.031, η² > 0.179), balance (i.e., right and left of static and dynamic balance and fast 10 m walk; all p < 0.049, η² > 0.152), and muscular function (i.e., 90°/sec and 180°/sec peak power per kg bodyweight, 90°/sec average power per kg bodyweight, 180°/sec total work, and 180°/sec endurance ratio; all p < 0.045, η² > 0.158). Conclusions: Combined exercise training improves muscle mass and strength, body composition, balance, and muscle function in sarcopenia elderly.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.21-30
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• 2023

PURPOSE: The present study evaluated the occurrence, somatometric, biochemical, and behavioral characteristics of young Korean sarcopenic males aged between 30 to 39 years. METHODS: The study involved a total of 1,546 participants. These individuals were divided into two distinct groups based on their skeletal muscle mass index. Of these, 49 participants were categorized into the sarcopenia group, while the remaining 1,497 individuals were placed in the normal group. The researchers analyzed the occurrence of sarcopenia, somatometric, biochemical, and behavioral characteristics such as height, weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), skeletal muscle mass index, fasting glucose (FG), triglyceride and total cholesterol (TC) levels, systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and the drinking and smoking status. A complex sampling data analysis was performed. RESULTS: The weighted occurrence of sarcopenia was found to be 3.24%, (95% confidence interval (CI) of 2.39% to 4.36%). The somatometric contributing factors were height, BMI, and WC (p < .05). Triglyceride and TC levels exhibited statistically significant differences in the biochemical variables (p < .05). The behavioral characteristics, including the drinking and smoking status, had no statistical significance (p > .05). CONCLUSION: This study identified specific occurrences of sarcopenia and contributing factors in young Korean men.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.23-31
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• 2023

PURPOSE: This study examined the anthropometric and clinical risk factors and the prevalence of sarcopenia in women aged 40 to 49 years. METHODS: The study design is a cross-sectional research and a total of 2,055 participants were included. The participants were divided into two groups based on their skeletal muscle mass index score. One hundred and twenty-six individuals were assigned to a sarcopenia group, and 1,939 were assigned to a normal group. The following variables were analyzed: age, height, weight, body mass index, waist circumference, skeletal muscle mass index anthropometric measure, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, blood laboratory tests, fasting glucose, triglyceride, total cholesterol, and smoking and drinking smoking statuses. RESULTS: The prevalence of sarcopenia was 6.5% (95% CI: 5.33-7.92). Anthropometric variables, such as height, BMI, and waist circumference, showed significance differences between the two groups (p < .05), except for weight variable (p > .05). In terms of blood pressure and blood lab tests, the systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, fasting glucose, triglyceride, and total cholesterol were all significant risk factors for sarcopenia in the two groups. (p < .05). CONCLUSION: This study identified risk factors and the prevalence of sarcopenia among community-dwelling middle-aged women.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.378-385
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• 2016

Objectives: This study was conducted to investigate the association between sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity and cardiovascular disease risk in Korean postmenopausal women. Methods: We analyzed data of 2,019 postmenopausal women aged 50-64 years who participated in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2008-2011 and were free of cardiovascular disease history. Blood pressure, height, and weight were measured. We analyzed the serum concentrations of glucose, total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Waist circumference was used to measure obesity. Appendicular skeletal muscle mass was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Sarcopenia was defined as the appendicular skeletal muscle mass/body weight<1 standard deviation below the gender-specific means for healthy young adults. The estimated 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease risk was calculated by Pooled Cohort Equation. Subjects were classified as non-sarcopenia, sarcopenia, or sarcopenic obesity based on status of waist circumference and appendicular skeletal muscle mass. Results: The prevalence of sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity was 16.3% (n=317) and 18.3% (n=369), respectively. The 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease risk in the sarcopenic obesity group was higher ($3.82{\pm}0.22%$) than the normal group ($2.73{\pm}0.09%$) and sarcopenia group ($3.17{\pm}0.22%$) (p < 0.000). The odd ratios (ORs) for the ${\geq}7.5%$ 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease risk were significantly higher in the sarcopenic obesity group (OR 3.609, 95% CI: 2.030-6.417) compared to the sarcopenia group (OR 2.799, 95% CI: 1.463-5.352) (p for trend < 0.000) after adjusting for independent variables (i.e., exercise, period of menopausal, alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT) score, income, education level, calorie intake, %fat intake and hormonal replacement therapy). Conclusions: Sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity appear to be associated with higher risk factors predicting the 10-year risks of cardiovascular disease risk in postmenopausal women. These findings imply that maintaining normal weight and muscle mass may be important for cardiovascular disease risk prevention in postmenopausal women.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.49-62
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• 2024

Purpose : This study was conducted to compare two non-face-to-face exercise interventions depending on whether mobile applications and wearable exercise aids are used to find out which interventions are more effective in improving senile sarcopenia. Ultimately, it was conducted to provide basic data for developing non-face-to-face intervention methods to improve sarcopenia. Method : In this study, 18 elderly sarcopenia and possible sarcopenia aged 65 or older were randomly assigned to the digital and self-exercise intervention groups. The digital exercise intervention group performed eight exercise programs with mobile applications and wearable exercise aids to record and manage the elderly performing the programs in real time. And the self-exercise intervention group performed the same program on its own as implemented in the digital exercise group. The intervention was applied for 8 weeks, and before and after the intervention, sarcopenia evaluation and physical function evaluation were performed. Results : In the digital exercise intervention group, arm muscle mass, skeletal muscle index, SPPB, 5TSTS, and BBS were improved, and in the self-exercise intervention group, grip strength, SPPB, 5TSTS, and BBS were improved. Conclusion : It was confirmed that both groups are effective in improving physical performance and physical function, the digital exercise intervention is effective in improving muscle mass and self-exercise intervention is effective in improving muscle strength. Therefore, this study proposes to apply intervention methods separately according to the indicators to improve and prevent sarcopenia, and also simplify the instructions of applications used to improve sarcopenia and to create an environment where users can be trained regularly on how to use it. And, In the future, studies for the development of devices to be designed to help non-face-to-face exercise interventions or studies on the differences between face-to-face and non-face-to-face exercise interventions should be conducted in terms of the effect of improving sarcopenia.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.11 no.11
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• pp.405-416
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• 2020

This study was conducted to identify the factors affecting sarcopenia in middle-aged and older women in Korea. This is a cross sectional study by using 5th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data. The data were analyzed by using the SPSS 26.0 program. The prevalence of sarcopenia was 10.8%. There were significant differences according to ASM, age, education, current job, marital status, perceived health status, energy intake, protein intake, BMI, body fat, alcohol drinking, menopause, central obesity, impaired fasting glucose and chronic disease. Woman with central obesity and osteoarthritis increased risk of sarcopenia each 4.15 times(p<.001), 3.06 times(p=.041) and energy intake decreased risk of sarcopenia 0.99 times(p=.043). In order to prevent and manage sarcopenia, strategies for managing central obesity and osteoarthritis in mddile-aged and older woman and adequate food intake are needed.