Sarcopenia Is Associated With Increased Risks of Rotator Cuff Tendon Diseases Among Community-Dwelling Elders: A Cross-Sectional Quantitative Ultrasound Study

Frontiers in Medicine

article

Der-Sheng Han¹  Wei-Ting Wu¹  Po-Cheng Hsu¹  Hsiang-Chi Chang⁵  Kuo-Chin Huang²  Ke-Vin Chang¹ 

[1] Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital, Bei-Hu Branch;Community and Geriatric Medicine Research Center, National Taiwan University Hospital, Bei-Hu Branch;Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University College of Medicine;Health Science and Wellness Center, National Taiwan University;Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Cheng Hsin General Hospital;Department of Family Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine;Center for Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, Wang-Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University

关键词: ultrasound;    shoulder pain;    aging;    frailty;    sarcopenia;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fmed.2021.630009

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Backgrounds: Recently, the association between sarcopenia and various musculoskeletal disorders, such as lumbar spine stenosis and fibromyalgia, has been highlighted. However, the relationship between sarcopenia and rotator cuff tendon diseases has rarely been investigated. This study aimed to evaluate whether sarcopenia was associated with shoulder pain and to determine whether rotator cuff tendons differed in echotexture between the sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic populations. Methods: The thickness and echogenicity ratio of the tendon vs. the overlying muscle (ER TM ) or subcutaneous tissue (ER TT ) were measured using high-resolution ultrasonography in 56 sarcopenic patients and 56 sex- and age- matched controls. The association between ultrasound measurements of the rotator cuff tendon complex and sarcopenia was investigated using the generalized estimating equation (GEE). Results: The sarcopenic group had an increased prevalence of shoulder pain. Based on the GEE analysis, sarcopenia was significantly associated with an increase in supraspinatus tendon thickness (β coefficient = 0.447, p < 0.001) and a decrease in the ER TM for the biceps long head and rotator cuff tendons. A negative trend of association was observed between sarcopenia and ER TT in the supraspinatus tendons (β coefficient = −0.097, p = 0.070). Nevertheless, sarcopenia was not associated with an increased risk of rotator cuff tendon tears. Conclusions: Patients with sarcopenia have a higher risk of shoulder pain. A consistent tendinopathic change develops in the supraspinatus tendons in sarcopenic patients. However, sarcopenia is less likely to be associated with serious rotator cuff pathology, such as tendon tears. Prospective cohort studies are warranted to explore the causal relationship between sarcopenia and shoulder disorders.

【 授权许可】

CC BY