Sarcopenia in IBD patients associated with worse outcomes

The study results include the following points:

• IBD pathogenesis may be related to malabsorption, reduced protein intake, chronic inflammation, dysbiosis, reduced physical activity, medication effects and hormone signalling from visceral adiposity.
• Direct measurements on cross-sectional imaging are the traditional techniques used to assess Sarcopenia.
• New bedside tools are now available to estimate muscle mass with grip strength, mid- upper- arm circumference, and body composition utilizing bioelectrical impedance analysis.
• Making evaluation more streamlined, novel biomarkers for assessing muscle mass and techniques utilizing point-of-care ultrasound are also proposed.

Concluding further, they said that based on our review and findings, we highlight the consideration that Sarcopenia is tied to poor clinical outcomes independent of IBD activity.

Clinically IBD patients must be assessed routinely for muscle health.

Future studies must elucidate the pathophysiology, and effective therapeutic options to reduce complications.

Further reading:

Review article: Putting some muscle into Sarcopenia—the pathogenesis, assessment and clinical impact of muscle loss in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.17498