Pathogenesis and risk factors of sarcopenia

Sarcopenia is an age-related degenerative disease characterized by progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass and function, resulting severe clinical outcomes such as falls, disability, and increased all-cause mortality, thereby significantly reducing the quality of life in elderly population. With China’s rapid demographic aging, sarcopenia is emerging as a critical public health challenge. In this review, we elaborate the pathogenesis of sarcopenia, identifying metabolic imbalance and cellular oxidative stress as major contributing factors to muscle degeneration. Also, this article indicates that life-style, physiological condition and genetic factors jointly influence the population susceptibility and progression of sarcopenia. On one hand, this article lists the non-genetic factors that accelerate the progression of sarcopenia; and on the other hand, it elaborates the role of multiple genes in maintaining muscle function, and the risk associations between genetic mutations and sarcopenia which has been revealed in studies from population cohort and animal models. Moreover, this article summarizes how epigenetic factors regulate muscle metabolism and aging, and comprehensively discusses the intervention effects and clinical limitations of treatment, nutritional support, and exercise therapy. We hope this review can provide a theoretical framework to advance both fundamental research and clinical strategies for sarcopenia prevention and management.