Sarcopenia and Its Connection with Geriatric Dysfunctionality in a Family Medicine Unit

Abstract

Objective:  to identify the prevalence of sarcopenia and its connection with geriatric dysfunction in a family medicine unit. Methods: descriptive study; 174 patients over 65 years of age of both sexes were included. Non-probabilistic convenience non-probabilistic sampling. The sarc-f questionnaire was used for screening, the ewgsop2 algorithm to determine the presence and degree of sarcopenia and the Katz test to assess the degree of functional dependence with basic activities of daily living. Statistical analysis was carried out using the spss v program. 22. To relate the presence and degree of sarcopenia with functional dependence, the χ2 test was used with a significance level of 0.05 and Spearman’s Rho was used. Results: it was observed that women have a higher prevalence of sarcopenia, the highest age was 80 years and older. The variables with association were presence and degree of sarcopenia with the degree of functional dependence, Spearman’s Rho 0.491 and 0.411, respectively; with statistical significance (p<0.000). Conclusion: age and female sex influence the development of sarcopenia. The prevalence of the latter, and the dependence on basic activities of daily living, will depend on the biological and social factors of each individual; because of this, it is necessary to carry out an exhaustive search for cases with risk factors in order to have a timely impact on these patients and avoid complications.