1669-P: The Joint Effect of Low Skeletal Muscle Mass and Abdominal Obesity on the Incidence of Cardiovascular Events—A 7.6-Year Follow-up

Introduction & Objective: Skeletal muscle loss often accompanies with abdominal obesity in the aging process. This study was aimed to assess the joint effect of low skeletal muscle mass and abdominal obesity on incident cardiovascular events.

Methods: A total of 1330 community residents (582 men and 748 postmenopausal women) aged 50−80 years were recruited in 2013−2014. During 2021−2022, a follow-up was conducted to record their cardiovascular events via phone calls. All events were further validated by medical records. Skeletal muscle mass was estimated by bioelectrical impedance analysis and converted to skeletal muscle index (SMI) adjusted for body weight. Pre-sarcopenia was defined as SMI less than 1SD of the sex-specific mean for a young reference group. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to assess visceral fat area (VFA). VFA ≥ 80 cm² was defined as abdominal obesity. Participants were classified into 4 groups as, normal, pre-sarcopenia alone, abdominal alone, pre-sarcopenic obesity.

Results: The prevalence of pre-sarcopenia and abdominal obesity were 15.9% and 56.5%, respectively. During a mean of 7.6-year follow-up, 139 participants (10.5%) developed cardiovascular events. SMI was negatively associated with the risk of cardiovascular events (adjusted HR 0.92, 95%CI 0.87-0.97), while VFA was positively associated with the risk of cardiovascular events (adjusted HR 1.04, 95%CI 1.00-1.09). Pre-sarcopenic obesity conferred the highest risk of incident cardiovascular events (adjusted HR 2.17, 95%CI 1.31-3.59) compared with normal body composition, pre-sarcopenia alone, or abdominal obesity.

Conclusion: Low skeletal muscle mass and abdominal obesity could additively increase the risk of cardiovascular events.