AUTHOR=Wang Hui , Lin Ping 

TITLE=Association between sarcopenia and hemoglobin level: a systematic review and meta-analysis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2024.1424227

DOI=10.3389/fmed.2024.1424227

ISSN=2296-858X

ABSTRACT=<sec id="sec1"><title>Background</title><p>Sarcopenia is a disease characterized by decreased skeletal muscle mass and function in elderly individuals. Decreased hemoglobin levels is a marker of anemia. According to reports, there may be an association between anemia and sarcopenia, but research is inconsistent. Therefore, this meta-analysis aims to explore the association between sarcopenia and low hemoglobin levels.</p></sec><sec id="sec2"><title>Methods</title><p>We searched PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Ovid, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wan Fang databases until September 2022. The present study included cross-sectional and case-control studies regarding low hemoglobin levels and sarcopenia. The studies were selected using inclusion and exclusion criteria. Studies were meta-analyzed by Review Manager 5.4 and Stata 16.0. We performed the heterogeneity test using the <italic>I</italic><sup>2</sup> test. Subgroup analysis was carried out to explore the cause of heterogeneity. Egger test was used to evaluate publication bias.</p></sec><sec id="sec3"><title>Results</title><p>Out of 1,550 initial studies, 16 studies were meta-analyzed. Sarcopenia participants had significantly lower levels of hemoglobin than controls (MD = −0.53, 95% CI: −0.68 to −0.37, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001). Subgroup analysis, performed in China population reported lower hemoglobin levels in the sarcopenia population (MD = −0.49, 95% CI: −0.65 to −0.33, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001). And sarcopenia based on AWGS criteria reported lower hemoglobin levels (MD = −0.49, 95% CI: −0.65 to −0.33, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001). Among the population from hospitals and communities, patients with sarcopenia have lower hemoglobin levels.</p></sec><sec id="sec4"><title>Conclusion</title><p>Our meta-analysis found evidence that sarcopenia is associated with low hemoglobin levels. However, further large-scale prospective studies should be conducted in the future to further confirm our conclusions.</p></sec><sec id="sec401"><title>Systematic review registration</title><p>PROSPERO, CDR42024532252.</p></sec>