Sarcopenia screening of community-dwelling individuals aged 65 and over within the primary care setting

BACKGROUND: The term sarcopenia, referring to declining function with age, has no universally agreed definition. Sarcopenia develops from multifactorial interactions, resulting in health problems such as frailty and increased falls risk; and for which screening may enable timely intervention. As sarcopenia screening equipment recommended by The European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP2) is not always available in primary care, alternate screening strategies are needed. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy of the SARC-CalF questionnaire for sarcopenia screening in primary care and agreement between SARC-CalF and SARC-F questionnaires, with EWGSOP2 cut-off values. METHODS: Fifty community-dwelling adults aged 65yrs and over completed the SARC-CalF and EWGSOP2 strength and physical performance outcome measures. Calculations for probability of sarcopenia and skeletal muscle mass were completed. Agreement between operational definitions and outcome measures were assessed to establish screening accuracy. RESULTS: Prevalence of probable sarcopenia ranged from 10–48% depending on outcome measure; SARC-CalF increased prevalence by 55% compared to SARC-F. Questionnaires agreed more strongly with probable sarcopenia as measured by leg than grip strength. Gait speed agreed significantly with strength and physical performance measures. CONCLUSIONS: In community-dwelling adults aged 65yrs and over, outcome measure used influenced rates of probable sarcopenia. Within primary care, equations may enable assessment of muscle mass, while formulae may enable assessment of the probability of sarcopenia. Gait speed is recommended for quantification of sarcopenia severity.