Association between sarcopenia and osteoarthritis: A protocol for meta-analysis

Background: Sarcopenia, a relatively new syndrome referring to the age-related decline of muscle strength and degenerative loss of skeletal muscle mass and function, often resulting in frailty, disability, and mortality. Osteoarthritis, as a prevalent joint degenerative disease, is affecting over 250 million patients worldwide, and it is the fifth leading cause of disability. Despite the high prevalence of osteoarthritis, there are still lack of efficient treatment potions in clinics, partially due to the heterogeneous and complexity of osteoarthritis pathology. Previous studies revealed the association between sarcopenia and osteoarthritis, but the conclusions remain controversial and the prevalence of sarcopenia within osteoarthritis patients still needs to be elucidated. To identify the current evidence on the prevalence of sarcopenia and its association with osteoarthritis across studies, we performed this systematic review and meta-analysis that would help us to further confirm the association between these two diseases. Methods and analysis: Electronic sources including PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science will be searched systematically following appropriate strategies to identify relevant studies from inception up to 28 February 2022 with no language restriction. Two investigators will evaluate the preselected studies independently for inclusion, data extraction and quality assessment using a standardized protocol. Meta-analysis will be performed to pool the estimated effect using studies assessing an association between sarcopenia and osteoarthritis. Subgroup analyses will also be performed when data are sufficient. Heterogeneity and publication bias of included studies will be investigated. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42020155694.