PD079 - SEX-SPECIFIC DIFFERENCES IN BODY COMPOSITION AND DIET QUALITY IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS: EVIDENCE OF EARLY SARCOPENIA RISK

PD079

SEX-SPECIFIC DIFFERENCES IN BODY COMPOSITION AND DIET QUALITY IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS: EVIDENCE OF EARLY SARCOPENIA RISK

H. Arad Hardoon¹ on behalf of Mediet4MS, N. GUTTMAN^2,*, M. Golan^1,3, A. Reiter², H. Kolb³, Y. Vigiser³, K. Regev³, A. Karni^1,3, V. Kaufman-Shriqui² on behalf of Mediet4MS

¹Grey Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, ²Nutrition Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ariel University, Ariel, ³Department of Neuroimmunology and MS center, Tel Aviv Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel

Rationale: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic immune-mediated disease of the central nervous system. Body composition and dietary patterns are emerging as modifiable factors influencing systemic inflammation and disease progression.

Methods: Baseline data of participants in the MeDiet4MS study were analyzed. Anthropometric measures included BMI, waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), skeletal muscle mass (SMM), and handgrip strength (HGS). SMM and HG were compared with age-and sex-specific normative data. Dietary adherence was assessed using the I-MEDAS questionnaire. Between-sex differences were assessed using independent t-tests or Mann-Whitney U tests. Multivariable linear regression assessed sex differences, adjusted for disease duration and disability level. Comparisons with norms used one-sample t-tests and χ² tests. Two-sided p<0.05 was considered significant.

Results: The cohort included 36 men and 77 women (mean age: 47.3±1.9 vs 46.6±1.2 years; BMI: 27.1±0.8 vs 25.2±0.7 kg/m²). Compared with normative data, low SMM prevalence was higher among men (23.8% vs. 21.3%, p=0.006) and exceeded the 9.0% in the normative population. Handgrip strength significantly reduced vs normative values (mean Z-score: -0.99±1.12; p<0.001), with no sex differences. WHtR was higher in men compared to women (0.54±0.10 vs 0.50±0.01; p=0.008). No difference in total I-MEDAS score was observed (men 9.4±0.4; women: 8.9±0.3).

Conclusion: Patients with MS show a high prevalence of low muscle mass and reduced strength compared with normative data, despite similar BMI, suggesting early sarcopenia risk. Men exhibit greater central adiposity. Notably, adherence to the Mediterranean diet was relatively high with no sex differences. These findings support the incorporation of body composition, functional measures, and dietary assessment into routine MS care.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared