Our main analysis (k = 5; 372 subjects with sarcopenia and 816 subjects without sarcopenia) showed that sarcopenia was associated with significantly higher levels of BNP (MD: 87.76, 95% CI 20.74–154.78, I2 = 61%, P = 0.01) (Fig. 2). The gene discussed is NPPB; the disease is sarcopenia.