Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics of overlapping syndromes of low mus-cle mass in Chinese patients with rheumatoid arthritis(RA)and their impact on physical function.Methods:Consecutive patients with RA were recruited from September 2019 to April 2024 at Department of Rheumatology and Immunology,Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital.Clinical data including disease acti-vity,physical function and radiographic assessment were collected.All patients also finished measure-ment of body composition,grip strength,and gait speed,and overlapping syndromes of low muscle mass as well as malnutrition,sarcopenia,sarcopenic obesity,and cachexia were evaluated.The Stanford health assessment questionnaire-disability index(HAQ-DI)was used to evaluate physical function.Logistic regression was used to analyze the related factors of physical dysfunction.Results:A total of 1 016 RA patients were recruited.Their mean age was(52.4±12.5)years,and 82.5%were female.There were 557 cases(54.8%)with overlapping syndromes of low muscle mass and all of them were malnutrition.On this basis,326 cases(32.1%)exhibited sarcopenia,124(12.2%)sarcopenic obesity,and 33(3.2%)cachexia.There were 584(57.4%)of RA patients having physical dysfunction,with varying degrees of severity:421(41.4%)mild,124(12.2%)moderate,and 39(3.8%)severe.Compared with patients without overlapping syndromes of low muscle mass(n=459)or with malnutrition only(n=231),RA patients with both malnutrition and sarcopenia(n=326)had significantly higher core disease activity indicators and higher rate of physical dysfunction(69.6%vs.42.0%vs.56.6%).However,compared with patients without overlapping syndromes of low muscle mass,patients with malnutrition only had lower HAQ-DI score(median 0.0 vs.0.1)and lower rate of physical dysfunction(42.0%vs.56.6%).Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that simultaneously overlapping malnutrition and sarcopenia were associated factors of physical dysfunction(OR=2.021,95%CI:1.067-3.828),but malnutrition only was not.Conclusion:Simultaneously overlapping malnutrition and sarcopenia can deteriorate disease activity and physical dysfunction in RA patients.The screening and evaluation of over-lapping syndromes of low muscle mass,especially sarcopenia should be emphasized in patients with RA.
关键词
类风湿关节炎/低肌肉量综合征/营养不良/肌少症/躯体功能
Key words
Rheumatoid arthritis/Overlapping syndromes of low muscle mass/Malnutrition/Sarcope-nia/Physical function