Urban-rural differences in the prevalence and associated factors of sarcopenia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

• Published in: Archives of gerontology and geriatrics 2024-07, Vol.122, p.105390-105390, Article 105390
• Main Authors: Li, Xiaoyan, Wang, Rongyun, Hou, Zhuoer, Sun, Qiuhua
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Associated factors; Prevalence; Sarcopenia; Urban-rural
• ISSN: 0167-4943; 1872-6976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.archger.2024.105390

•Sarcopenia is associated with aspects of the built environment, and the overall prevalence of sarcopenia among patients in urban-rural areas was 0.18.•Sarcopenia is more common in rural populations than in urban populations, and the prevalence of sarcopenia in urban group (0.16) was lower than in rural group (0.2) and urban-rural group (0.21).•The factors significantly associated with sarcopenia in urban-rural areas were age, gender, BMI, malnutrition, physical activity, and polypharmacy. Loss of muscle mass, muscle strength, and/or physical performance due to aging is known as sarcopenia. Regardless of how serious this illness is, no single diagnostic criteria have been established. Much research conducted recently has demonstrated differences between built environment characteristics (i.e., urban and rural) and the occurrence of sarcopenia; however, variations in sarcopenia prevalence in urban-rural areas around the world have been reported by fewer studies. This work sought to determine how sarcopenia prevalence varied between urban and rural areas and to explore the associated influencing factors. Using the pertinent MESH phrases and free words, PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and China national knowledge infrastructure databases were scanned for core sarcopenia literature up to February 26, 2023. Observational studies involving urban-rural patients with sarcopenia published in Chinese and English, and assessing muscle mass via computed tomography, bioelectrical impedance, or dual-energy X-ray absorption techniques were considered as inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis involved analysis of the urban-rural prevalence in subgroups by diagnostic criteria, tools for assessing muscle mass and study type, as well as the factors related to urban-rural differences in the occurrence of sarcopenia. STATA version 11.0 was used to perform the statistical analysis. Sixty-six articles involving 433,091 participants were included for analysis: of which 27 were analyzed for both prevalence and related factors whereas 39 were for only prevalence. The meta-analysis revealed the prevalence of sarcopenia to be 0.18 (95 % CI 0.14–0.22), with significant heterogeneity (P < 0.001; I2 = 99.9 %). Moreover, the prevalence of sarcopenia in urban group [0.16 (I2 = 99.9 %, 95 % CI 0.1–0.22)] was lower than in rural group [0.2 (I2 = 99.6 %, 95 % CI 0.16–0.25)] and urban-rural group [0.21 (I2 = 97.5 %, 95 % CI 0.16–0.25)]. Besides, the factors significantly associated with sarcop