Examining the presence of sarcopenia in women with rheumatoid arthritis: Case-control study
Published Online: Dec 28, 2023
Page range: 150 - 159
Received: Oct 03, 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/rjim-2023-0036
Keywords
© 2023 Begum Akar et al., published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.
Introduction
The aim of this study was to compare the frequency of sarcopenia, functional status, fear-avoidance behaviors, biopsychosocial status and quality of life in RA women with healthy controls.
Methods
25 RA women and 25 healthy women were included in the study. Definition of sarcopenia was assessed using parameters recommended by the European Working Group on Sarcopenia (EWGSOP): Bioimpedance analysis for muscle mass (body fat ratio, skeletal muscle mass, skeletal muscle mass index); grip and knee extension strength for muscle strength and 4-m course gait speed test for physical performance was applied. Functional status was evaluated with the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), fear-avoidance behaviors with the Tampa Kinesiophobia Scale (TKS), biopsychosocial status with the Biopsychosocial Questionnaire (BETY-BQ), and quality of life with Short Form-36 (SF-36).
Results
While none of the healthy women had sarcopenia, severe sarcopenia was detected in 7 (28%) of the women with RA. When RA and healthy groups were compared; skeletal muscle mass (p: 0,004); skeletal muscle mass index (p: 0,011); grip strength-right (p:0.001) and left (p:0.001); knee extension strength-right (p:0.001) and left (p:0.001), 4-m course gait speed test (p:0.001), HAQ (p:0.001), TKS (p:0.001), BETY-BQ (p:0.001), SF-36 physical (p:0.001) ve mental component (p:0.001) results were significant in favor of the healthy group while there was no difference in body fat ratio (p>0.05).
Conclusion
In women with RA, the frequency of sarcopenia is higher, and functional status, fear-avoidance behaviors, biopsychosocial status and quality of life are worse than healthy.