Association between sarcopenia and new-onset chronic kidney disease among middle-aged and elder adults: findings from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study

Sarcopenia is a senile syndrome of age-related muscle loss. It is thought to affect the development of chronic kidney disease and has a serious impact on the quality of life of the elder adults. Little is known about the association between sarcopenia and new-onset chronic kidney disease in middle-aged and elder adults. Using nationally representative data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), we conducted a longitudinal analysis to investigate the association between sarcopenia status and new-onset chronic kidney disease in middle-aged and elder adults in China.

The study population consisted of 3676 participants aged 45 or older selected from 2011 CHARLS database who had no history of chronic kidney disease at the baseline and completed the follow-up in 2015. A multivariate cox regression model was employed to examine the association between sarcopenia and the incidence of new-onset chronic kidney disease.

Followed up for 4 years, a total of 873 (22.5%) new cases of chronic kidney disease occurred. Among them, participants diagnosed with sarcopenia (HR1.45; 95% CI 1.15–1.83) were more likely to develop new-onset chronic kidney disease than those without sarcopenia. Similarly, patients with sarcopenia were more likely to develop new-onset chronic kidney disease than those with possible sarcopenia (HR 1.27; 95%CI 1.00-1.60). Subgroup analysis revealed that elder adults aged between 60 and 75 years old (HR 1.666; 95%CI 1.20-22.28), with hypertension (HR 1.57; 95%CI 1.02–2.40), people with sarcopenia had a significantly higher risk of developing new-onset chronic kidney disease than those without sarcopenia (all P < 0.05).

Middle-aged and elder adults diagnosed with sarcopenia have a higher risk of developing new-onset chronic kidney disease.