Sarcopenia, and Chronic Pain in Patients with Pseudoexfoliation Syndrome

Abstract

Introduction: We aimed to investigate whether the rate of sarcopenia is higher in patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome and if an association exists between pseudoexfoliation syndrome, sarcopenia parameters, and chronic musculoskeletal pain. Materials and Method: A total of 96 enrolled patients were divided into two equal groups: “pseudoexfoliation syndrome group” and “no pseudoexfoliation syndrome group”. The variables were demographic characteristics, sarcopenia parameters (SARC-F, hand-grip strength, chair-rise test, gait speed), and pain parameters (having any chronic musculoskeletal pain, pain regions, and Visual Analog Scale-pain). Results: Comparison of sarcopenia and pain parameters between the two groups showed that SARC-F (all groups:p<0.001, 65-74 years:p<0,001, 75-84 years:p=0,015), chair rise test (all groups:p<0.001, 65-74 years:p=0,002, 75-84 years:p=0,003), and Visual Analog Scale-pain (all groups:p<0.001, 65-74 years:p=0,007, 75-84 years:p=0,003) scores were statistically significantly higher, while the gait speed (all groups:p<0.001, 65-74 years:p=0,004, 75-84 years:p=0,007) score was significantly lower in “pseudoexfoliation syndrome group” than in “no pseudoexfoliation syndrome group”. 60.4% of patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome had probable sarcopenia, and 83% had chronic musculoskeletal pain. A comparison of the two groups showed that the rate of sarcopenia (all groups:p<0.001, 65-74 years:p<0,001, 75-84 years: p=0,014) and the rate of having chronic musculoskeletal pain (all groups, 75-84 years: p=0.002) was significantly higher in patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome. Conclusion: Our study results showed that most patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome had chronic musculoskeletal pain and probable sarcopenia. Although pseudoexfoliation syndrome and sarcopenia are problems of aging, further research is needed to explain the pathogenetic mechanisms underlying the high rate of sarcopenia and chronic pain in patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT06121154 Keywords: Chronic Pain; Exfoliation Syndrome; Sarcopenia.