Disparities in the consequences of sarcopenia: implications for African American Veterans.

Abstract

The phenomenon of age-related muscle wasting has been long recognized by geriatricians, rehabilitation specialists, and public health practitioners. However, Federal agencies are slow to recognize sarcopenia as a diagnostic term despite the ubiquitous observation of muscle loss as a signature event of aging. The formal adoption of sarcopenia as a clinical diagnosis has been complicated by its evolving operational definition and the varied approaches to the assessment of lean body mass (LBM). Currently, formal assessments of LBM rarely occur within the context of standard geriatric care. The failure to adequately assess muscle tissue within the larger context of geriatric medical care has significant public health implications given the importance of adequate muscle function for “successful aging” and the maintenance of independent living (Visser and Schaap, 2011). The prevalence of sarcopenia is approximately 25% of the U.S. population over 70 years of age (Baumgartner et al., 1998; Lorenzo, 2009). Additionally, U.S. health care expenditures ascribed to sarcopenia, based on the Third National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES III) data, have been conservatively estimated at 11.8 billion dollars (Janssen et al., 2004a). Given the national trends in the Veteran population with respect to age, reported disability levels, and increased representation of African American soldiers, the potential impact of sarcopenia on the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) healthcare system merits consideration.