Abstract
Background and Aim. Normal weight obese (NWO) syndrome is characterized by normal body mass index (BMI), but high amount of fat mass and reduced lean mass. We evaluated allelic frequency of the G/A −308 TNF-α polymorphism and prevalence of sarcopenia in NWO. Methods. We enrolled 120 Italian healthy women, distinguished into 3 groups: normal weight (NW); NWO, and preobese-obese (PreOB/OB) and evaluated anthropometric parameters, body composition by dual X-ray absorptiometry, blood tests, and genotyping of G/A −308 TNF-α polymorphism. Results. We found a positive association between sarcopenic obesity and −308 TNF-α polymorphism. All obese women were sarcopenic and were no carrier of mutation (G/G). Among all G/G, NWO showed significant differences in lean mass and total body lean mass (TBLean) with respect to NW and PreOB/OB (P < 0.001). Regarding appendicular skeletal muscle mass index values, 4.21% of NW were sarcopenic (50% G/G and 50% G/A); the same percentage was observed in NWO subjects (100% G/G). Moreover, 2.10% of PreOB/OB were sarcopenic and all were G/G. Conclusion. Our study suggests that TNF-α polymorphism contributes to sarcopenic obesity susceptibility, in association with body composition. This is the first study that shows the importance of TNF-α polymorphism to determine TBLean variation in NWO syndrome.
Highlights
IntroductionSarcopenia is defined according to the European consensus as a condition that involves a loss of muscle mass and declining strength and/or physical performance and has profound physiologic and clinical consequences, including but not limited to impaired protein turnover, mobility loss, osteoporosis, increased fracture risk, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, overall frailty, and increased mortality.A necessary condition for a diagnosis of sarcopenia is the extent of muscle mass loss that should be considered significant [1, 2].The combination of sarcopenia and obesity [3], defined as sarcopenic obesity, is an important public health that induces fragility in the elderly, and it is associated with functional limitations and increased mortality [4, 5].In order to avoid the risk of sarcopenic obesity in the elderly and to prevent in the young population, the diagnosis of obesity requires the utilization of various methods, including body composition evaluation, metabolic, functional, and a genetic approach [6,7,8,9].A number of candidate genes for obesity [10] and osteoporosis have been identified [11], but the genetic basis of sarcopenia is still largely unknown
Normal weight obese (NWO) syndrome is characterized by normal body mass index (BMI), but high amount of fat mass and reduced lean mass
Given the clinical significance of sarcopenic obesity, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the allelic frequency of the G/A −308 polymorphism in the TNF-α promoter gene and to determine whether this polymorphism is associated with appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (ASMMI) in NWO Italian population
Summary
Sarcopenia is defined according to the European consensus as a condition that involves a loss of muscle mass and declining strength and/or physical performance and has profound physiologic and clinical consequences, including but not limited to impaired protein turnover, mobility loss, osteoporosis, increased fracture risk, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, overall frailty, and increased mortality.A necessary condition for a diagnosis of sarcopenia is the extent of muscle mass loss that should be considered significant [1, 2].The combination of sarcopenia and obesity [3], defined as sarcopenic obesity, is an important public health that induces fragility in the elderly, and it is associated with functional limitations and increased mortality [4, 5].In order to avoid the risk of sarcopenic obesity in the elderly and to prevent in the young population, the diagnosis of obesity requires the utilization of various methods, including body composition evaluation, metabolic, functional, and a genetic approach [6,7,8,9].A number of candidate genes for obesity [10] and osteoporosis have been identified [11], but the genetic basis of sarcopenia is still largely unknown. In order to avoid the risk of sarcopenic obesity in the elderly and to prevent in the young population, the diagnosis of obesity requires the utilization of various methods, including body composition evaluation, metabolic, functional, and a genetic approach [6,7,8,9]. We enrolled 120 Italian healthy women, distinguished into 3 groups: normal weight (NW); NWO, and preobese-obese (PreOB/OB) and evaluated anthropometric parameters, body composition by dual X-ray absorptiometry, blood tests, and genotyping of G/A −308 TNF-α polymorphism. Our study suggests that TNF-α polymorphism contributes to sarcopenic obesity susceptibility, in association with body composition. This is the first study that shows the importance of TNF-α polymorphism to determine TBLean variation in NWO syndrome
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