Prevalence of sarcopenia and its associated factors: the impact of muscle mass, gait speed, and handgrip strength reference values on reported frequencies

Virgílio Garcia Moreira,Mariângela Perez,Roberto Alves Lourenço

doi:10.6061/clinics/2019/e477

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:Sarcopenia is a common treatable geriatric condition. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of sarcopenia and its associated factors in community-dwelling elderly living in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and to discuss the impact of different muscle mass, handgrip strength and gait speed cut-off values on the reported frequency of sarcopenia.METHODS:The health habits, functional capacity, and anthropometric measurements of 745 individuals aged ≥65 years from the Frailty in Brazilian Older People study were analyzed. The participants were classified into the following four groups: no sarcopenia, pre-sarcopenia, sarcopenia and severe sarcopenia. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed. Muscle mass, handgrip strength and gait speed cut-off thresholds tailored to the sample and those proposed by the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People were used to compare the prevalence rates of sarcopenia.RESULTS:Seventy-three percent of the participants were female, 61.9% were Caucasian, and the mean age was 76.6 years. The prevalence rates of sarcopenia were 10.8% and 18% using the sample-tailored and European consensus cut-off values, respectively. Sarcopenia was associated with advanced age (OR: 37.2; CI95%12.35-112.48), Caucasian race (OR: 1.89; CI 95% 1.02-3.52), single marital status (OR:6; CI95% 2.2-16.39), low income (OR:3.64; CI 95% 1.58-8.39), and the presence of comorbidities (OR:3.26; CI 95%1.28-8.3).CONCLUSION:In this study, the estimated prevalence of sarcopenia was similar to that reported in most studies after the tailored handgrip strength and gait speed cut-off values were adopted. A higher prevalence was observed when the cut-off values suggested by the European consensus were used. This indicates that the prevalence of sarcopenia must be estimated using population-specific reference values.

Highlights

In Brazil, epidemiological and demographic changes mean that 650,000 elderly people appear in the population each year
We aimed to evaluate the impact of various Muscle mass (MM), handgrip strength (HS) and gait speed (GS) cut-off values on the reported prevalence of sarcopenia
A brief report on the findings of the present study was presented in the poster session of the XXI World Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics [19]

Summary

Introduction

In Brazil, epidemiological and demographic changes mean that 650,000 elderly people appear in the population each year. Most have multiple chronic morbidities, and a considerable number have cognitive impairments and functional limitations [1]. The increase in life expectancy has become a primary risk factor for morbidity and disability, displacing morbidity and mortality risks from younger to older groups. The entire society will become tasked with the care of a greater proportion of people with chronic diseases [2]. No potential conflict of interest was reported

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