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BACKGROUND: In recent times, sarcopenia and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have garnered widespread attention in public health. Nevertheless, the relationship between sarcopenia and NAFLD remains uncertain. This study investigated the association between NAFLD and sarcopenia in the elderly population. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 1099 adults aged 60 and older participated. The participants were classified based on their body composition, and the International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine's diagnostic algorithm (ISarcoPRM) was utilized to diagnose sarcopenia, while the fatty liver index was utilized to diagnose NAFLD. Binary logistic regression analysis determined the correlation between NAFLD and sarcopenia. RESULTS: Of the 1099 participants, 213 (58.2 %) males and 480 (65.5 %) females were afflicted with NAFLD. After adjusting for other clinical factors, exercise was found to decrease the likelihood of NAFLD in females (but not in males) by approximately 70 % [relative risk (RR): 0.312, 95 % confidence interval (CI): 0.182-0.547]. In addition, sarcopenia was not discerned as a risk factor for NAFLD in either gender (both p > 0.05). However, obesity increased the likelihood of NAFLD in males by 27.5 (95 % CI: 10.4-73.1) and in females by 28.1 (95 % CI: 17.1-46.4), and sarcopenic obesity increased the likelihood of NAFLD by 49.5 (95 % CI: 11.1-219.1) in males and 35.5 (95 % CI: 18.5-68.2) in females (all p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that sarcopenia is not a risk factor for NAFLD in non-obese elderly subjects. However, a strong association was observed between obesity, especially sarcopenic obesity, and NAFLD. Regular physical activity seems protective for NAFLD in older females.
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