Premorbid sarcopenia and functional outcome after acute stroke: a meta-analysis.

Background and objectives: Sarcopenia is prevalent in patients with stroke. However, the relationship between sarcopenia and poor functional outcome of patients with acute stroke remains unknown. A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the above association.

Methods and study design: Observational studies which evaluated the influence of sarcopenia on functional outcome in patients with acute stroke were retrieved by search the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases. A poor functional outcome was defined as modified Rankin scale (mRS) of two or more points during follow-up. Two authors independently collected the data of study characteristics and outcomes. A random-effects model was used to pool the results via incorporating the influence of possible between-study heterogeneity.

Results: Nine datasets from seven cohort studies contributed to the meta-analysis. A total of 1774 patients with stroke were included, and 481 (27.1%) of them had sarcopenia. Compared to patients without sarcopenia, those with sarcopenia were associated with a higher risk of poor functional outcome during follow-up duration up to 6 months after stroke onset (odds ratio: 2.42, 95% confidence interval: 1.76 to 3.33, p < 0.001) with mild heterogeneity (I2 = 23%). Subgroup analyses according to study design (prospective versus retrospective), sex of the patient, type of stroke (ischemic or mixed), diagnostic methods for sarcopenia, follow-up duration and cutoff scores for mRS showed consistent results (p for subgroup analyses all > 0.05).

Conclusions: Sarcopenia may be associated with poor functional outcome in patients with acute stroke.