Sarcopenia as a predictor of hospitalization among older people: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Previous cohort studies investigating the association between sarcopenia and the risk of hospitalization have been inconsistent. We performed a meta-analysis to determine if sarcopenia is a predictor of hospitalization. Methods Prospective cohort studies that evaluated the association between sarcopenia and hospitalization in older people were identified via a systematic search of four electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Science Citation Index, and the Cochrane Library). A random-effect model was applied to combine the results according to the heterogeneity of the included studies. Results Five studies (2832 participants) were included in this meta-analysis. Pooled results demonstrated that older people with sarcopenia were at an increased risk of hospitalization (pooled hazards ratio [HR] = 1.57, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.26, 1.94, I 2 = 4.5%, P = 0.000) compared to those without sarcopenia. Results of subgroup analyses showed that hospitalized patients with sarcopenia had a higher rate of hospitalization (HR = 2.01, 95% CI = 1.41, 2.88, p = 0.000) versus patients without sarcopenia. A similar result was also found in community-dwelling older people with sarcopenia versus those without sarcopenia (HR = 1.40, 95% CI = 1.05, 1.88, p = 0.023). In addition, the subgroup analysis for length of follow-up showed that studies with a follow-up period of 3 years or more (pooled HR = 1.52, 95% CI = 1.19, 1.94, P = 0.001) reported a significantly higher rate of hospitalization among individuals with sarcopenia compared to those without sarcopenia. However, this association was not found in the studies with a follow-up period of less than 3 years (pooled HR = 1.76, 95% CI = 0.90, 3.44, P = 0.099). Conclusions Sarcopenia is a significant predictor of hospitalization among older individuals, and the association may not be significantly affected by the characteristics of the population or the definition of sarcopenia.