Influence of visceral fat accumulation on the onset of locomotive syndrome across age groups: A 3-year longitudinal study

Abstract The effects of visceral fat area (VFA) on the onset of locomotive syndrome (LS), particularly stage 1 LS (LS1), among different age groups remain unclear. We conducted a 3-year longitudinal study to examine the association among baseline VFA, changes in VFA, and LS1 onset. In total, 384 participants were categorised into non-onset and onset groups and stratified by age (younger and middle-aged, < 65 years; older, ≥ 65 years), baseline VFA (low-VFA, ≤ 73 cm 2 ; high-VFA, > 73 cm 2 , defined as the median), and change in VFA (increased-VFA, a change in VFA of > 0 cm 2 ; reduced-VFA, a change in VFA of ≤ 0 cm 2 ). VFA showed the strongest association with LS1, and its association varied across different age groups. In the younger and middle-aged groups, the odds ratio for the high- and increased-VFA groups was the highest, and the value for the low- and increased-VFA groups was higher than that for the high- and reduced-VFA groups. Changes in VFA were found to show a significant association with LS1 onset within 3 years. Our findings indicate that the determinants of LS1 onset differ by age group, with VFA increase being more relevant in younger and middle-aged individuals and baseline VFA being important in older individuals.