Adipocinas associadas à Sarcopenia em idosos da comunidade

Abstract

Immunosenescence parallel to the increase of adipose tissue in the elderly is related to the systemic increase of plasma levels of inflammatory mediators, such as adipokines, generating a chronic inflammatory state of low intensity in these individuals. Adipokines, in turn, have been related to decreased mass, muscle strength and physical function in the elderly, characterizing sarcopenia. Sarcopenia presents severe adverse outcomes for the elderly population, with consequences such as frailty, falls and bone fractures, disabilities, institutionalization and hospitalization. However, studies on the relationship between adipokines and sarcopenia are scarce in Brazil. The present study investigated the association between adipokines leptin, resistin and adiponectin and the presence of sarcopenia in elderly residents of the city of Alfenas - MG, aiming at the early identification of the syndrome. It is an observational, cross-sectional population-based study approved by the Ethics and Research Committee of UNIFAL-MG (opinion number 1,092,299). The sample consisted of 406 elderly individuals between 60 and 91 years of age and of both sexes. The classification for the presence / absence of sarcopenia was performed according to the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP), based on the low speed gait (VM) screening, associated or not with measured muscle weakness measured by the force of palmar grip (FPM) and reduction of muscle mass estimated by the Lee equation (MAE). For characterization of the sample, a descriptive analysis was performed. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to analyze the normality of the data distribution. Mann Whitney test (numerical variables) and chi-square test (categorical variables) were used, considering α = 5%. In addition, a binary logistic regression model was developed to determine the association between sarcopenia and adipokines. In the studied sample, the frequency of sarcopenia was 19%. Among the adipokines analyzed only leptin was associated with the presence of sarcopenia in the final binary regression model, where lower plasma levels of leptin were involved with increased risk of sarcopenia. The fact that the other inflammatory mediators were not associated with the diagnosis of sarcopenia can be explained by the overweight characteristic of the sample as a whole. According to the results, it is concluded that among the adipokines studied, the decrease in leptin may be one of the biological indicators for progress in the study of sarcopenia. However, new evidence is needed in order to investigate the action of these adipokines on the pathophysiology of sarcopenia and to verify the action of these mediators on the progression of this syndrome.