Screening Tools for Sarcopenia in Mild to Moderate Parkinson's Disease: Assessing the Accuracy of SARC-F and Calf Circumference.

Abstract

Parkinson's disease (PD) and sarcopenia share similar pathophysiological mechanisms. Estimate the prevalence of sarcopenia in PD patients and describe clinical and demographic features associated with sarcopenia. A cross-sectional study was carried out at a tertiary public hospital in Brazil. A modified HY scale of stage 1 to 3, being at least 40 years old and having the ability to stand and walk unassisted were required for eligibility. We evaluated physical performance and muscle mass using DEXA. The study population comprised 124 patients, of which 53 (42.7%) were women. The mean age and mean disease duration were 65.8±10.5 and 10.1±5.8 years, respectively. The mean handgrip strength of 20.4±6.9 in woman and 34.6±8.4 kg in men. Moreover, 50.8% patients had positive SARC-F, 20% patients had probable sarcopenia, 9.6% confirmed sarcopenia, and 16.8% patients showed low muscle mass quantity measured by DEXA. Lower Levodopa Equivalent Dosage (LED) and calf circumference (CC) were independently associated with confirmed sarcopenia. LLED, higher MDS-UPDRS Part III, and lower MMSE scores were independently associated with probable sarcopenia. The CC demonstrated accuracy to identify PD patients with confirmed sarcopenia with a cut-off of <31 cm in women and <34 cm in men. We found low prevalence of confirmed sarcopenia among PD patients. We propose that healthcare providers introduce measuring CC, which is a quick and inexpensive method to assess for sarcopenia in PD patients.