Publications : 2021

Kallman-Price J, VanderNoot N, Escheik C, Austin P, Estep JM, et al. 2021. Association of sarcopenia, fatigue, and serum myokines in patients with chronic liver disease. Gastroenterology 160(6):S-778-779; doi: 10.1016/S0016-5085(21)02573-7.

Abstract

Introduction: While increased visceral fat is closely associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the potential for decreased muscle mass and sarcopenia with NAFLD is currently under investigation. Aim: To examine indicators of secondary sarcopenia and determine how these indicators were related to fatigue and myokines levels. Methods: Subjects with NAFLD, HCV, and control were prospectively enrolled from an outpatient liver clinic. Data for analysis included medical history, bioimpedance measure of percent muscle mass, relative grip strength by age and gender (rGS), self-report of daily activity (AAS) levels translated into METs (via the Human Activity Profile), and fatigue measured by the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS). Normality and distribution were addressed and Pearson correlations were performed. Serum was used to run myokine panel including apelin, fractalkine, erythropoetin, LIF, IL-15, BDNF, irisin, FSTL-1, FABP-3, IL-6, osteonectin, oncostatin, and osteocrin. Results: 75 subjects (48.0±12.8 years, 37.3% female, 30.1±5.75 BMI, 72.2±9.3 % lean mass, 8.2±1.3 AAS METs, 3.4±1.6 FSS) had complete data and met inclusion criteria for analysis. The secondary sarcopenia criteria measures- percent muscle mass, rGS, and activity level in METs- were: 1) not significantly correlated with one another. 2) all independently correlated with myokines. %Lean Mass was correlated with apelin (- 0.346, p=.002), fractalkine(-0.383, p=<.001), erythropoetin (-0.316, p=.006), LIF (0.338, p=.003), IL-15 (-0.355, p=.002), irisin (-0.412, p=<.001), FSTL-1 (-0.291, p=.011), IL-6 (- 0.292, p=.011), and osteocrin (-0.393, p=<.001). AAS METs was correlated with FSS (- 0.316, p=.006), BMI (-0.337, p=0.003), BDNF (0.445, p=<.001), and FSTL-1 (-0.236, p= .042). rGS correlated with LIF (-0.348, p=.028), irisin (0.337, p=.033), and IL-6 (0.344, p=.030). FSS correlates with AAS METs (-0.316, p=0.006), apelin (-0.233, p=0.044), and BDNF (-0.288, p=0.049). BMI was correlated with AAS METs (0.337, p=0.003), % Lean Mass (0.367, p=0.001), and BDNF (-0.366, p=0.001). BDNF is correlated with FSS (-0.228, p=0.049), Age (-0.327, p=0.041), BMI (-0.366, p=0.001) AAS METs (-0.445, p=<0.001) and apelin (-0.263, p=0.038). Age was correlated with AAS METs (0.737, p=<.001), BDNF (-0.237, p=.041), FABP-3 (0.306, p=.008). Conclusions: The secondary sarcopenia criteria measures were not significantly correlated with one another in patients with CLD. All secondary sarcopenia criteria measures were moderately to strongly correlated with distinct groupings of serum myokines. Two sarcopenia criteria (AAS METs, % lean mass) were individually associated with BMI. Additional research is needed to explore the impact on these myokine profiles by improving physical activity, grip strength and BMI- all associated with reduced all-cause mortality.