Sarcopenia and Sarcopenic Obesity as Novel Risk Factors for Gastric Carcinogenesis: A Health Checkup Cohort Study

Background: Insulin resistance, the primary mechanism of metabolic syndrome, promotes gastric carcinogenesis. Metabolic syndrome is associated with sarcopenia. We aimed to investigate the association between sarcopenia and gastric carcinogenesis, including precancerous conditions such as atrophic gastritis (AG), intestinal metaplasia (IM), and dysplasia. Methods: The study included adult patients who underwent gastroduodenoscopy at a checkup center. AG and IM were evaluated using endoscopy. Based on muscle mass, sarcopenia was defined as a skeletal muscle index