Association between sarcopenia and parity in American women based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) 2011–2018

Background: Muscle atrophy is a condition characterized by a decrease in muscle mass, and it is more prevalent among females than males. Currently, there is limited research on the relationship between parity (number of pregnancies) and muscle atrophy. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the association between parity and muscle loss among Americans. Materials and Methods: Clinical data from 3,530 participants of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2011 to 2018 were analyzed. Restricted quadratic spline models were utilized in dose-response analyses to assess the relationship between parity and muscle atrophy. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to balance confounding factors between the muscle atrophy group and the non-muscle atrophy group. Results: Among the 3,530 participants, 330 (9.3%) were diagnosed with muscle atrophy. Our study revealed that factors such as older age, Mexican-American descent, low educational level, married status, poverty, physical inactivity, and higher parity were associated with muscle loss. The dose–response analyses showed a positive correlation between increasing parity and muscle atrophy, signifying that a higher number of pregnancies is linked to an increased risk of muscle atrophy. The results of PSM analysis further supported the positive association between parity and muscle atrophy, even after adjusting for other confounding variables. Conclusion: Expanding on our research, we observed a positive correlation between higher parity and an elevated likelihood of experiencing muscle atrophy in postmenopausal American women. Engaging in regular exercise might reduce this risk.