A obesidade abdominal acelera o declínio da força neuromuscular em pessoas com mais de 50 anos de idade? Conclusões do Estudo ELSA

Abstract

Objective: The present study aimed to analyze how the presence of abdominal obesity can hasten the muscle strength decline in individuals aged 50 years or older over eight years of follow-up. Methods: We used longitudinal data from 5.181 participants from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). The presence of abdominal obesity was defined by the waist circumference > 102 cm for men and > 88 cm for women. After the baseline evaluation, new assessments were performed after 4 and 8 years subsequently. It was used generalized linear mixed models controlled by sociodemographic status, behavioural characteristics, clinical conditions, neuropsychiatric factors, serum and functional markers with handgrip strength decline as the outcome. Results: Although abdominal obese men started the trajectory with greater muscle strength, they had a higher muscle strength decline over eight years of follow-up (- 0.12 kg per year, 95% CI - 0.24 – - 0.01) compared to those men without abdominal obesity. The same results were not observed in women. It is important to mention that the non-stratified models, controlled by sex, incorrectly demonstrated that this outcome was valid for both sexes. Conclusion: Abdominal obesity has different effects on muscle strength decline among men and women over time. The larger adiposity in the abdominal area is predictive for worse trajectory of muscle strength decline only in men.