Prevalence and associated factors of sarcopenia among patients underwent abdominal CT scan in Tertiary Care Hospital of South India

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the proportion of radiologically significant (LSMI) sarcopenia and the factors associated with it among patients undergoing Computerized Tomography scan. METHODS: A Cross sectional study was conducted among 152 patients underwent CT scan in the radiology department of Government medical college Thiruvananthapuram. Sarcopenia was estimated based on lumbar skeletal muscle index obtained using cross sectional areas of various abdominal muscles by CT scan. The proportion of sarcopenia was estimated and associated factors studied. Binary logistic regression model was used to adjust the confounders. RESULTS: Out of 152 individuals, sarcopenia was present in a total of 82 (53.95%) individuals. Male gender (Adjusted OR= 8.42, 3.64 - 19.52 (95% CI)) was a risk factor for and a body mass index more than 25Kg/m(2) (Adjusted OR= 0.36, 0.15- 0.67 (95% CI)) was a protective factor against sarcopenia. CONCLUSION: The burden of sarcopenia is found to be high and considering the double burden of sarcopenia and obesity in the Kerala community, newer strategies for health promotion and early detection need to be developed.