Association of visceral fat area with early-stage locomotive syndrome across various age groups: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Abstract The association between visceral fat area (VFA) and locomotive syndrome (LS) has been extensively studied in the older population; however, the association between VFA and early-stage LS (stage 1 [LS1]) remains unclear. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated this association across different age groups. The study involved 1,236 (524 male and 712 female) participants (aged 20–85 years). Multiple regression analysis adjusted for sex, body mass index, skeletal muscle mass index, T-score, exercise habits, smoking status, and alcohol consumption revealed a significant association between LS1 and VFA across all VFA quartiles. The adjusted odds ratio OR for quartiles 2, 3, and 4 was 1.84, 2.68, and 4.12, respectively. The association between LS1 and VFA across the age groups—high VFA (> 73 cm2) and non-older (< 65 years) (OR, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.28–2.72; p = 0.001), low VFA (≤ 73 cm2) and older (≥ 65 years) (OR, 3.16; 95% CI, 1.94–5.14; p < 0.001), and high VFA and older groups (OR, 6.43; 95% CI, 3.98–10.4; p < 0.001)—was significantly stronger than that in the low VFA and non-older group. In summary, our findings suggest that managing VFA through diet and exercise is crucial for preventing LS1 across all age groups.

Keywords

• Visceral fat area
• Locomotive syndrome
• Metabolic syndrome
• Cross-sectional study