The Association Between Body Fat Distribution and Osteosarcopenia in Older Adults: Evidence From the Pocosteo Study Publisher Pubmed



Torabi A ; Afrashteh S ; Moftian N ; Ghalandari H ; Farhadi A ; Emamat H ; Nabipour I ; Larijani B
Source: Aging Clinical and Experimental Research Published:2025

Abstract

Background: Osteosarcopenia is a syndrome associated with aging, characterized by the simultaneous occurrence of two conditions: osteopenia and sarcopenia. The association between various fat mass distributions across the body and osteosarcopenia is not clear. Methods: Cross-sectional data from the PoCOsteo study, involving 1,897 participants, were used. T-score was used to define osteopenia. Sarcopenia was identified based on the skeletal muscle mass index (SMI), handgrip strength measurements, and/or a walking speed. Body fat distribution was assessed using Dual X-ray absorptiometry. Results: Regression models, after adjustment for covariates—age, gender, marital status, tobacco use, income, education, occupation, and hypertension—revealed a negative association between various fat deposits—including total, gynoid, trunk, arm, and android fat—as well as indices of body mass index (BMI) and the trunk-to-limb fat mass ratio, with both osteoporosis and sarcopenia. A significant inverse relationship was also observed between osteosarcopenia and total fat (OR = 0.946, 95% CI: 0.918–0.975), android fat (OR = 0.932, 95% CI: 0.911–0.953), trunk fat (OR = 0.927, 95% CI: 0.903–0.952), and BMI (OR = 0.738, 95% CI: 0.703–0.775). Conclusion: Osteosarcopenia and its components (osteoporosis and sarcopenia) are inversely associated with BMI and fat mass, particularly in the trunk and android regions. © The Author(s) 2025.