The frequency of sarcopenia in haemophilia patients: Effects on musculoskeletal health and functional performance

Abstract Introduction In patients with haemophilia A, chronic arthropathy develops over time as a result of recurrent joint bleeds, which leads to restricted mobility and disability in the affected joints. There are limited studies in the literature evaluating sarcopenia in patients with haemophilia. The present study aims to determine the prevalence of sarcopenia in severe haemophilia‐A patients and to evaluate musculoskeletal health and functional performance. Methods Thirty haemophilia‐A patients and 26 adult male volunteers were enrolled in the study. For detection of sarcopenia, the appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) obtained by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) was divided by height squared (m 2 ) to obtain the appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (ASMI) value. The thighs of both lower extremities were measured using the Modified Sonographic Tight Adjustment Ratio (STAR) method, which was obtained by adding the bilateral rectus femoris and vastus intermedius muscle thicknesses measured by ultrasound. Hand and quadriceps muscle strength (MS) were measured with a dynamometer. Physical performance was determined using the walking speed (WS), timed up‐and‐go test (TUGT), 5‐repetition sit‐to‐stand test (5RSTS), and 6‐min walk test (6MWT). Haemophilia Joint Health Score (HJHS) and Haemophilia Early Arthropathy Detection‐Ultrasonography (HEAD‐US) were also used to assess the musculoskeletal system. Results According to the modified STAR values calculated based on body mass index, sarcopenia was present in 15 (50%) of 30 patients. However, based on the ASMI‐BIA values, sarcopenia was present in only two (6.6%) patients. A weak correlation was found between ASMI and HJHS, HEAD‐US, WS, TUGT, and hand MS (left), while a moderate correlation was found with knee MS (right), knee MS (left), and 5RSTS. A strong correlation was found between the modified STAR score and HEAD‐US, HJHS, knee MS (left), 5RSTS, TUGT, and WS, while a moderate correlation was found with hand MS (left), hand MS (right), and knee MS (right). Conclusion This study showed muscle loss, joint mobility restrictions, and decreased functional capacity in haemophilia patients and demonstrated the presence of sarcopenia in these patients. The STAR measurement method showed stronger relationships with MS and functional performance values than ASMI measurements in terms of evaluating sarcopenia.