Use of body weight-adjusted FEV1/FVC as an index to predict the risk of sarcopenia among elderly people in the community

Abstract Background The quality and function of skeletal muscle decrease with aging in humans. Meanwhile, sarcopenia leads to increased fat mass and decreased muscle mass in the elderly. Furthermore, sarcopenia results in decreased respiratory muscle mass and strength in the elderly, as well as reduced respiratory function. Sarcopenia is an important cause of death from aspiration pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and other respiratory diseases in the elderly. Therefore, it is of great significance to develop an inexpensive and simple respiratory function test to identify elderly patients at risk of sarcopenia. Methods In this cross-sectional survey, subjects who participated in the physical examination project of the second Community Health Service Center of Pengpu Town, Jing’an District, Shanghai, China were eligible. From April to September 2021, 1257 elderly people underwent a health screening. Demographic data were collected via self-completed forms. Physical data such as height, weight, and disease history were collected via consultation and physical examination by clinicians. Medical examination data included the results of bioelectrical impedance analysis, respiratory function tests, chest X-ray, and electrocardiogram. Statistical analysis was performed using Student’s t-test, the chi-squared test, Spearman’s correlation analysis, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results In total, 663 subjects were enrolled in this study, including 285 women (70.154 ± 3.931 years old) and 207 men (70.437 ± 3.891 years old) without sarcopenia and 101 women (71.237 ± 4.858 years old) and 70 men (72.12 ± 5.232 years old) with sarcopenia. Age and body mass index significantly differed between subjects with and without sarcopenia. In addition, combined forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), FEV1/FVC, maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP), and peak inspiratory flow (PIF) adjusted for body weight significantly differed between subjects with and without sarcopenia for both men and women. The sensitivity and specificity of body weight-adjusted FEV1/FVC for predicting the risk of sarcopenia in elderly subjects were high. For body weight-adjusted FEV1/FVC in men, the area under the ROC curve, sensitivity, specificity, and cutoff were 0.816, 0.829, 0.676, and 0.012, respectively, whereas the values were 0.830, 0.782, 0.785, and 0.015, respectively, in women. Conclusions The results in our study clearly indicate that body weight-adjusted FEV1/FVC was positivity correlated with the risk of sarcopenia in elderly men and women.