The association between adverse childhood experiences and sarcopenia: the impact of depression and inflammation

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are the most important environmental risk factors for mental health disorders, but its impact is far beyond mental health only. Growing evidence shows that ACEs also affects the somatic health status of younger and middle-aged people and even physical frailty in later life. Sarcopenia is a core component of physical frailty and characterized by a combination of loss of muscle mass, strength, and function. In 2016, sarcopenia has been included in the ICD-10, which supports the recognition of sarcopenia as a disease. Sarcopenia is associated with many adverse health outcomes and its disease burden is high. The relationship between ACEs and sarcopenia has not been examined yet. Knowledge on the relationship between ACEs and sarcopenia will support health care providers and policy-makers to promote successful ageing, to lower ACEs-related health outcomes, and to support individuals who have suffered by ACEs.