title: Association between sarcopenia and mortality in healthy older people.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the association between loss of fat-free mass and mortality among older people.
  
  
  METHODS
  Information of healthy Chilean older people evaluated by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry was used, identifying those who died in a period of 12 years. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to identify mortality predictors. Life tables were constructed calculating survival using predictive variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Information from 1413 participants aged 74.3 ± 5.6 years (1001 women), was obtained. During the follow-up (median 1594 days), 221 participants died. The Cox model identified age and appendicular fat-free mass as predictors of death (hazard ratios 1.08 and 0.85, respectively). According to life tables, participants in the lower sex-specific quartile for appendicular fat-free mass/height had significantly higher mortality. This association was significant among participants aged over 73 years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A low fat-free mass was predictive of mortality in older people.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile. dbunout@inta.cl
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bunout
authors.forename: María P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: de la Maza
authors.forename: Gladys
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Barrera
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Leiva
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hirsch
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002677:Chile / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015993:Life Tables; D008297:Male; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012042:Registries; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D055948:Sarcopenia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000401:mortality*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013997:Time Factors