Abstract
Sarcopenia, operationally defined as the loss of muscle mass and muscle function, is a major health condition associated with ageing, and contributes to many components of public health at both the patient and the societal levels. Currently, no consensual definition of sarcopenia exists and therefore it is still a challenge to establish the actual prevalence of sarcopenia or to establish the direct and indirect impacts of sarcopenia on public health. Anyway, this geriatric syndrome represents a huge potential public health issue because of its multiple clinical and societal consequences. Moreover, all these aspects have an impact on healthcare costs both for the patient and the society. Therefore, the implementation of effective and broadly applicable preventive and therapeutic interventions has become a medical and societal challenge for the growing number of older persons affected by sarcopenia and its disabling complications.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/2049-3258-72-45) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Thanks to social, health and technological progress, the proportion of older people in the age pyramid is increasing all over the world
Because of the high costs and the limited access to this kind of equipment, the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) [8] recommends in clinical practice, first the use of either dual energy Xray absorptiometry (DXA) or, as a portable alternative to DXA, the bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Despite their easy use in clinical practice, the anthropometric measures are not recommended for the diagnosis of sarcopenia because these measures are not validated in older people and are, vulnerable to error
Given the variability in the definitions of sarcopenia, it is still a challenge to establish the actual prevalence of sarcopenia according to age and gender and to assess the direct and indirect impacts of sarcopenia on public health
Summary
Health and technological progress, the proportion of older people in the age pyramid is increasing all over the world. According to the World Health Organisation, in 2050 there should be at least 2 milliards of people aged 65 years or older, compared to 600 million today. The aging process is responsible of many changes in body composition including a loss of skeletal muscle mass. From the age of 25, there is a progressive decrease in the size and number of muscle fibres resulting in a loss of about 30% of muscle mass at the age of 80 [2]. This age-related loss of muscle mass is characterized as abnormal. To characterize this phenomenon, the term “sarcopenia” was firstly introduced by Irwin Rosenberg [3]. The definition of sarcopenia was enriched with scientific and technological advances and gradually evolved to incorporate the notions of decreased muscle mass [4], of decreased muscle function (low muscle strength or low physical performance)
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