Impact of Sarcopenia on the Hip Fracture Treatment Outcomes: A Single-institution Case-control Study

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p><jats:bold>Background</jats:bold>: Although sarcopenia has been known as a risk factor for hip fractures, only a few reports have described the impact of sarcopenia on hip fracture treatment outcomes. The current study therefore sought to investigate the effect of sarcopenia on treatment outcomes of patients with hip fractures.<jats:bold>Methods:</jats:bold> This case–control study involved 337 patients (67 males and 270 females) with hip fractures aged ≥ years (mean age: 84.1 ± 7.1 years) who underwent surgery from January 2013 to June 2019. The mean follow-up period was 17.1 (1–60) months. All patients were assessed for sarcopenia using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry upon hospitalization. Treatment outcomes and one-year mortality rates were compared between patients with and without sarcopenia. Furthermore, we determined whether sarcopenia was a risk factor for one-year mortality in hip fracture patients using a Cox proportional hazards model.<jats:bold>Results:</jats:bold> The prevalence of sarcopenia in patients with hip fracture was 231(68.5%). Those with sarcopenia had a lower Barthel index (P < 0.0001) and hospital discharge rate (P = 0.035). Cox proportional hazards regression analysis adjusted for age and sex found that sarcopenia was a risk factor for one-year mortality (hazard ratio, 3.173, 95% confidence interval, 1.095–9.199, P = 0.033).<jats:bold>Conclusions:</jats:bold> Patients with hip fracture who had sarcopenia had a lower Barthel index, lower hospital discharge rate, and higher one-year mortality. Moreover, sarcopenia was identified as a risk factor for one-year mortality among those with hip fractures. The aforementioned findings may help clinicians better manage those with hip fracture.</jats:p>