ArticleFrontiers in aging2026
Effect of sarcopenia and paraspinal muscle morphology on conservative treatment outcomes in lumbar spinal stenosis: a prospective cohort study.
Article in Frontiers in aging, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
Introduction: The impact of sarcopenia on postoperative outcomes in lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is well documented, but its role in conservative treatment remains unclear. In this prospective cohort study, we examined the association between sarcopenia and outcomes after conservative treatment in elderly LSS patients and explored whether paraspinal cross-sectional area (CSA) and fat percentage mediate this relationship. Methods: Elderly LSS patients undergoing conservative treatment at Sichuan Provincial Orthopedic Hospital (June 2023-May 2025) were enrolled. Sarcopenia was diagnosed according to the criteria of the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia. The primary outcome was >50% improvement in the Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score at discharge. Missing data were imputed with random forest. Candidate predictors were screened using univariate logistic regression ( Results: Among 463 patients, 89 (19.2%) had sarcopenia. Sarcopenic patients had significantly smaller paraspinal CSA and greater fat infiltration than non-sarcopenic patients. After adjustment for sex, age, and albumin, sarcopenia remained independently associated with poor discharge outcome (OR = 0.21, 95% CI: 0.12-0.38, Conclusion: Sarcopenia is independently associated with worse short-term outcomes after conservative treatment in older LSS patients, with this association statistically mediated by reduced paraspinal CSA.
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