Abstract
Our study aimed to investigate the prevalence and associated factors of sarcopenia in the disabled elderly in communities in Shanghai, China. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2018. Five hundred and seventy two participants (≥60 years) were recruited through cluster sampling from Putuo District of Shanghai. Sarcopenia was defined according to the updated consensus of the European Sarcoma Working Group in 2019. The sarcopenia, depression, and nutrition status were assessed by using SARC-F, the Short Version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D-10), and the Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short form (MNA-SF), respectively Physical activity was also assessed. Our results showed the prevalence of sarcopenia was 0.5%, but the prevalence of low handgrip strength was 37.2% (male, 5.5%; female, 39.1%). The modified Poisson regression model was used to evaluate the relationship among related variables and low handgrip strength. The risk for low handgrip strength was higher in the physically disabled subjects than in the visually disabled ones (aPR: 1.69, 95% CI: 1.88-2.42). Depressive symptoms (aPR: 1.31, 95% CI: 1.04-1.62) and PASE score (aPR: 0.99, 95% CI: 0.99-1.00) were independently associated with low handgrip strength. In summary, the prevalence of EWGSOP2-defined sarcopenia is low and the prevalence of declined muscle strength is high in the disabled elderly. The elderly participants with a physical disability had a higher prevalence of low hand handgrip strength than those with a visual disability. More studies with a larger sample size and longitudinal follow-up are needed to confirm our findings.
Highlights
As the population ages and life expectancy increases, the number of diseases and/or syndromes associated with aging increases concurrently
Level 4 disability had the highest proportion (68.4%), followed by level 3 disability (23.1%), and severe disability accounted for 8.5%
A systematic review reveals that the prevalence of sarcopenia is 1–29% among elderly people in the general public, 14–33% among residents in nursing facilities, and 10% in hospitalized patients based on the diagnostic criteria of the EWGSOP (2010) consensus [13]
Summary
As the population ages and life expectancy increases, the number of diseases and/or syndromes associated with aging increases concurrently. Based on the recent scientific and clinical findings on sarcopenia, the European Sarcoma Working Group (EWGSOP) and the Asia Sarcoma Working Group (AWGS) have updated their consensuses on sarcopenia in 2018 and 2019, respectively [1, 2] Both recognize that muscle strength is more important than muscle mass in predicting adverse outcomes. According to the World Disability Report 2010, there are currently more than 1 billion disabled people worldwide, accounting for 15% of the total population. Among these people, 600 million are in Asia. The significant increase in the number of elderly disabled people due to population aging has become an important worldwide issue, and the elderly disabled people, or the “dual vulnerable group,” should be paid more attention
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