ArticleJournal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle2026
Combined Effect of Sarcopenia and Impaired Respiratory Function on All-Cause Death: A Nationwide Cohort Study.
Article in Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundRespiratory fitness and sarcopenia status have been reported to be cross-sectionally linked with each other and increase mortality risk. However, little is currently known regarding the connection between impaired respiratory function and sarcopenia and their joint effect on future death risk.
methodsThis study included 12 027 participants (50.8% were women; mean [SD] age, 58.9 [9.3] years) from a nationwide, prospective cohort in China (China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study). Respiratory function was assessed by peak expiratory flow (PEF). Sarcopenia status was assessed according to the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 2019 (AWGS 2019) criteria. Time-to-event survival analyses and causal mediation analyses were conducted to assess the joint association of sarcopenia and reduced PEF with all-cause mortality.
resultsDuring a mean follow-up of 8.64 years, 1536 deaths were recorded. After multivariable adjustment, the hazard ratios (HRs) for mortality were 1.51 (95% CI: 1.33-1.71) for possible sarcopenia and 1.67 (95% CI: 1.43-1.94) for diagnosed sarcopenia. A dose-dependent association between PEF and mortality was observed (p-nonlinearity > 0.05). The adjusted HRs per 1-SD decrease in PEF were 1.29 (95% CI: 1.18-1.41), 1.15 (95% CI: 1.03-1.29), and 1.49 (95% CI: 1.30-1.71) among individuals with nonsarcopenia, possible sarcopenia, and diagnosed sarcopenia, respectively (p interaction = 0.127). Causal mediation analysis demonstrated a bidirectional mediation effect, with both natural direct and indirect effects being statistically significant. Diagnosed sarcopenia was associated with excess mortality partly mediated by reduced PEF (total effect HR: 1.63, 95% CI: 1.38-1.92; natural indirect effect HR: 1.10, 95% CI: 1.07-1.14; proportion mediated: 18.5%). Conversely, sarcopenia mediated 10.0% and 7.0% of the reduced PEF-mortality pathway for possible and diagnosed sarcopenia, respectively. Compared with participants who had normal PEF and no sarcopenia, the adjusted HRs (95% CIs) for mortality were 1.52 (1.22-1.89) for possible sarcopenia with normal PEF, 1.73 (1.28-2.35) for diagnosed sarcopenia with normal PEF, 1.60 (1.36-1.88) for impaired PEF without sarcopenia, 2.22 (1.87-2.64) for impaired PEF with possible sarcopenia, and 2.44 (2.01-2.97) for impaired PEF with diagnosed sarcopenia. No significant risk heterogeneity was observed across sex, age or lifestyle subgroups.
conclusionsSarcopenia and impaired respiratory function are interrelated and jointly elevate mortality risk in middle-aged and older Chinese adults.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.