Influence of Sarcopenic Obesity on Osteoporosis and Vertebral Fragility Fractures in Post-Menopausal Women

Objective: The aim of our retrospective case-control study is to evaluate the influence of sarcopenic obesity on osteoporosis and vertebral fragility fractures in post-menopausal women. Setting: Outpatients clinic university hospital. Participants: Participants were recruited among postmenopausal women aged 50 years or older with a BMI >30 kg/m2 from January 2011 through December 2013. According to Newman et al, defi- nition based on appendicular lean mass adjusted for height and body fat mass (residuals) these patients were classified in two groups: sarcopenic obese and non sarcopenic obese. Main Outcome Measures: We evaluated bone mineral density at lumbar spine, femoral neck, and total body DXA scans. Vertebral fragility fractures were identified using the technique of lateral vertebral assessment (LVA) of DXA scan. Results: We evaluated 133 women mean aged 63.71 years 8.59 (min. 50 years; max. 84 years) with a mean BMI of 34.31 3.96 kg/m2 (min. 30.04; max. 53.97). Forty-seven patients (35.33%) of our population had sarcopenic obesity 19 of these patients (40.43%) were osteoporotic and 15 (31.91%) had a vertebral fracture: 8 (17.02%) with a single vertebral fracture and 7 (1489%) with multiple vertebral fractures. Sarcopenic obesity was associated with a higher risk of osteoporosis (odds ratio or 1.20; 95% confidence interval CI 0.25-0.58) and a higher risk of vertebral fractures (OR 1.21; 95% CI 0.56-2.62). Conclusions: In our cohort of post-menopausal women, sarcopenic obesity was associated with a higher risk of osteoporosis and vertebral fragility fractures.