Association of Smoking and Alcohol Consumption with the Presence of Sarcopenia at Follow-up in Community-Dwelling People Aged 40-74 Years.

BACKGROUND

Evidence on the association of smoking and drinking with sarcopenia is scarce. This study aimed to examine the association between smoking levels/alcohol consumption and sarcopenia in community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults.

METHODS

This study consisted of 6,654 community-dwelling residents aged 40-74 years (mean age: 62.4 years, 54.8% women). At the baseline survey (2011-2014), demographic information, lifestyle habits (including smoking levels and alcohol consumption), physical characteristics, and medical history were obtained. Follow- up physical examinations were conducted in 2021 and 2022. Sarcopenia was diagnosed using modified the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 2019 criteria, with low muscle mass defined as the sex-specific 20th percentile of appendicular lean mass (ALM)/height².

RESULTS

Sarcopenia was present in 272/6,654 cases (4.1%). Smoking levels were associated with higher odds of the presence of sarcopenia at follow-up (adjusted p for trend=0.0367), with the ≥20-cigarettes/ day group having a higher OR than non-smokers (adjusted odds ratio [OR]=1.95, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.17-3.24). Drinking levels were associated with lower odds of the presence of sarcopenia in women (adjusted p for trend=0.0013), but not in men (adjusted p for trend=0.9872). A subgroup analysis showed that smoking ≥20 cigarettes/day was associated with higher odds of the presence of sarcopenia than non-smoking (adjusted OR=2.14, 95% CI 1.13-4.04) in drinkers, but not in non-drinkers (p for interaction between levels of smoking and alcohol consumption=0.0483).

CONCLUSION

Higher smoking levels were associated with sarcopenia, particularly among individuals who smoked ≥20 cigarettes/day, and an interaction between smoking and alcohol consumption was suggested. However, caution is warranted in interpreting causality, as this study did not assess sarcopenia at baseline.