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PubMed · 42702734

Genome-wide association study of sarcopenia index reveals sex-stratified genetic architecture.

Yumeng Mu·Binzhi Liao·Mengliang Luo·Kaifeng Lu·Huaxin Tang·Mao Nie·Xianding Sun
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: The sarcopenia index (SI), defined as the ratio of serum creatinine to cystatin C, is a proposed biomarker of muscle mass and sarcopenia, yet its genomic basis and genetic architecture remain largely unexplored. METHODS: We performed combined-sex and sex-stratified genome-wide association studies of SI in the UK Biobank. We examined the overlap between SI-associated loci and loci previously reported for sarcopenia-related traits. We assessed sexually dimorphic effects and gene-sex interactions, performed fine-mapping, and conducted credible gene prioritization, motif and transcription factor binding enrichment, gene-set enrichment, linkage disequilibrium score regression, and cross-phenotype colocalization. RESULTS: We identified 774 unique independent SI-associated loci across all analyses, with 747 detected in the combined-sex GWAS, 283 in the male-stratified GWAS, and 311 in the female-stratified GWAS; 367 of these loci had not been previously reported for conventional sarcopenia-related traits. Sex-stratified analyses highlighted the rs1145093-chr15q21.1-GATM region, where CARMA identified sex-differentiated causal variants. We prioritized 17 male-biased and 11 female-biased credible genes. Enrichment analyses implicated androgen receptor and GATA4 in males, and ESR1 and MYOD1 in females. Enrichment revealed shared pathways involving inflammation, cellular stress, and aging-related processes. LDSC showed inverse genetic correlations between SI and heart failure (rg = -0.19, p = 2.30 × 10- 9) and metabolic syndrome (rg = -0.12, p = 8.49 × 10- 8), and a positive correlation with chronic kidney disease. Compared with female SI, male SI exhibited two additional loci showing colocalization with four metabolic traits. CONCLUSIONS: These findings clarify the genetic architecture of SI and reveal sex-dependent mechanisms underlying sarcopenia, supporting precision risk assessment and targeted interventions.

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HumansSarcopeniaMaleGenome-Wide Association StudyFemaleSex CharacteristicsPolymorphism, Single NucleotideUK BiobankCreatinineCystatin CJournal Article

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Yumeng Mu, Binzhi Liao, Mengliang Luo, Kaifeng Lu, Huaxin Tang, Mao Nie, Xianding Sun. 2026-08-25. Genome-wide association study of sarcopenia index reveals sex-stratified genetic architecture.. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13293-026-00973-y

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