Correlation between multiple chronic diseases and sarcopenia among elderly people in rural Anhui Province
Objective:This article is to investigate the correlation between multiple chronic diseases and sarcopenia in rural elderly people in Anhui Province,and to provide interventions to delay or prevent the occurrence of sarcopenia.Methods:A total of 652 elderly people aged 60 years and above were selected from Lu'an and Fuyang City,Anhui Province,and the multiple chronic diseases were self-reported by the subjects who had been diagnosed by hospitals above the second level and above,and the sarcopenia-five scale(SARC-F)was used to evaluate the sarcopenia.Linear regression and logistic regression were used to explore the relationship among multiple chronic disease conditions,number and sarcopenia.Results:A total of 616 older adults were included in this study,of whom 194(31.5%)had sarcopenia.The results of linear regression showed that compared with those without chronic diseases,the older adults with chronic diseases had higher SARC-F scores(Model 3:β=0.866,P<0.05),and the older adults with multiple chronic diseases had higher SARC-F scores(Model 3:2 chronic diseases:β=1.071,P<0.01;3 chronic diseases:β=1.174,P<0.01;4 chronic diseases:β=1.147,P<0.01).The results of logistic regression showed that older adults with chronic diseases had a higher risk of sarcopenia than those without chronic diseases(Model 3:OR=2.075,P<0.05),and older adults with two and three chronic diseases had a higher risk of sarcopenia(Model 3:OR=1.980,P<0.05,for two chronic diseases;OR=2.632 for three chronic diseases,P<0.05).Conclusion:The occurrence and the number of multiple chronic diseases are related to the onset of sarcopenia in the elderly in rural Anhui Province,and timely treatment of multiple chronic diseases has public health significance for delaying sarcopenia.