Sarcopenia and its relationship with osteoarthritis: Risk factor or direct consequence?

Purpose: The aim of this review is to evaluate the clinical role of sarcopenia in patients affected by osteoarthritis (OA) of major joints. Methods: An online database research was performed, in order to retrieve all articles investigating the relationship between sarcopenia and OA. No peer-reviewed journal was excluded. Papers in English, French, Spanish and Italian language were considered. After consulting the full-text article, five studies have been included in the review. Results: Of the five studies included, four are prospective studies and only one is a cross-sectional study which retrieved data retrospectively. A total of 4,231 patients, presenting a mean age of 62.0 years, were studied. Three studies evaluated only female subjects. Weight, height and body mass index were reported in all the articles. Knee OA has been assessed using the Kellgren-Lawrence grading system and the American college of rheumatology criteria. Alterations of the lean body mass on body weight ratio have been reported to be as a significant predictive parameter in two studies. Relationship between radiographic OA and an increase in the leg lean mass has been observed in one study. Conclusions: We cannot support neither the thesis of a direct effect of sarcopenia on OA development nor the opposite relation, because the up-to-date literature lacks basic science studies concerning these topics. The absence of clinical studies regarding measurements and tools to compare sarcopenia and OA do not allow to definitely clarify this relationship. © 2014 Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli.