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The Characteristic of Muscle Function for Sarcopenia in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Large-Scale Real-World Cross-Sectional Study

Pei-Wen Jia, Jian-Zi Lin, Yao-Wei Zou, Zhi-Ming Ouyang, Ying Yang, Kui-Min Yang, Liu-Qin Liang, Jin-Yuan Han et al.

Medicina, 2025

1,125 participants · 8 citations

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Sarcopenia is a notable comorbidity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), affecting about one third of patients. However, the characteristic of muscle function and its association with RA disease remains unknown. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study collected clinical data from a real-world Chinese RA cohort. Sarcopenia was defined as both myopenia and low muscle function (LMF). Myopenia was defined as appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (ASMI) 2.8) subgroup, 198 (21.3%) patients in the old (age ≥ 50 years) and remission subgroup, and 420 (45.2%) patients in the old and active subgroup. Compared with the two remission subgroups, respectively, the young and active subgroup had significantly lower grip strength, higher prevalence of sarcopenia, LMF, and LMS, and worse activity function. After adjustment for potential confounders, multivariate multinominal logistic regression analysis showed that the young and active subgroup was positively associated with sarcopenia (OR = 3.193, 95%CI: 1.477–6.899), LMF (OR = 2.390, 95%CI: 1.207–4.731), and LMS (OR = 3.520, 95%CI: 1.743–7.110). Conclusions: Worse muscle strength, rather than reduced physical performance, is more common in patients with active RA at a young age. It underscores the critical need for early identification and intervention of muscle dysfunction to improve their quality of life.

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a cross-sectional, done in people. Its evidence level is 4 of 5 (Low · observational). Observational designs can show an association but not prove cause. Reported size: 1,125 participants or records.

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