Individually Tailored Screening of Susceptibility to Sarcopenia Using p53 Codon 72 Polymorphism, Phenotypes, and Conventional Risk Factors

Abstract

Background and Aim.p53 activity plays a role in muscle homeostasis and skeletal muscle differentiation; all pathways that lead to sarcopenia are related to p53 activities. We investigate the allelic frequency of the TP53 codon 72 in exon 4 polymorphism in the Italian female population and the association with appendicular skeletal muscle mass index in normal weight (NW), normal weight obese (NWO), and preobese-obese (Preob-Ob) subjects.Methods.We evaluated anthropometry, body composition, and p53 polymorphism in 140 women distinguished in NW, NWO, and Preob-Ob.Results.Arg*/Arg*genotype increases sarcopenia risk up to 20% (Arg*/Arg*genotype OR = 1.20; 95% CI = 0.48–2.9;proallele*carriers OR = 0.83; 95% CI = 0.83–2.06). The risk of being sarcopenic forArg*/Arg*genotype in NWO and Preob-Ob is 31% higher than NW carriers ofproallele*(RR = 0,31, 95% CI = 0,15–0,66,P= 0,0079). We developed a model able to predict sarcopenia risk based on age, body fat, and p53 polymorphism.Conclusion. Our study evidences that genotyping TP53 polymorphism could be a useful new genetic approach, in association with body composition evaluations, to assess sarcopenia risk.