Gastrointestinal Diseases and Sarcopenia
Abstract
Sarcopenia is a progressive systemic condition characterized by a reduced skeletal muscle mass, strength, and physical function. In gastrointestinal diseases, it is increasingly recognized as a clinically relevant factor associated with symptom burden, treatment tolerance, postoperative complications, quality of life, and survival. Its development reflects not only aging but also disease-related malnutrition, anorexia, malabsorption, chronic inflammation, cachexia, altered gut motility, defecatory dysfunction, dysbiosis, and reduced physical activity levels. Conversely, sarcopenia can impair swallowing, mastication, abdominal pressure generation, pelvic floor function, mobility, bowel function, and nutritional status, creating a bidirectional vicious cycle. This review summarizes the shared pathophysiology linking gastrointestinal diseases and sarcopenia, disease-specific clinical implications in esophageal, gastric, colorectal, inflammatory bowel, constipation-related, and functional gastrointestinal disorders, and practical approaches to assessment and multidisciplinary intervention in older patients in gastroenterology practice.
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BibTeX
@article{asaoka2026gastrointestinal,
title = {{Gastrointestinal Diseases and Sarcopenia}},
author = {Daisuke Asaoka and Tsutomu Takeda and Mariko Hojo and Akihito Nagahara},
journal = {Internal Medicine},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.2169/internalmedicine.7956-26},
url = {https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/internalmedicine/advpub/0/advpub_7956-26/_article},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Gastrointestinal Diseases and Sarcopenia
AU - Daisuke Asaoka
AU - Tsutomu Takeda
AU - Mariko Hojo
AU - Akihito Nagahara
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/25
JO - Internal Medicine
DO - 10.2169/internalmedicine.7956-26
UR - https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/internalmedicine/advpub/0/advpub_7956-26/_article
AB - Sarcopenia is a progressive systemic condition characterized by a reduced skeletal muscle mass, strength, and physical function. In gastrointestinal diseases, it is increasingly recognized as a clinically relevant factor associated with symptom burden, treatment tolerance, postoperative complications, quality of life, and survival. Its development reflects not only aging but also disease-related malnutrition, anorexia, malabsorption, chronic inflammation, cachexia, altered gut motility, defecatory dysfunction, dysbiosis, and reduced physical activity levels. Conversely, sarcopenia can impair swallowing, mastication, abdominal pressure generation, pelvic floor function, mobility, bowel function, and nutritional status, creating a bidirectional vicious cycle. This review summarizes the shared pathophysiology linking gastrointestinal diseases and sarcopenia, disease-specific clinical implications in esophageal, gastric, colorectal, inflammatory bowel, constipation-related, and functional gastrointestinal disorders, and practical approaches to assessment and multidisciplinary intervention in older patients in gastroenterology practice.
SN - 1349-7235
SN - 0918-2918
ER -