Frequency of sarcopenia and associated factors among hospitalized elderly patients

Abstract

Background: Sarcopenia is an important public health problem that affects mainly elders, and has negative consequences, such as disability and even death. Due to the lack of studies evaluating sarcopenia in elderly persons hospitalized in Brazil, the aim of the present study was to describe the frequency of sarcopenia and associated factors among elders in a hospital in the city of Salvador -Brazil. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 110 hospitalized elderly patients in a multi-specialty hospital in Salvador-BA, Brazil. Inclusion criteria: were elders aged ≥60 years between the first and fifth day of hospitalization; who were able to walk without external assistance; with medical permission to walk, and who did not take vasoactive and inotropic drugs. The diagnosis of sarcopenia was determined by combining the reduction in skeletal muscle mass with muscle weakness (women, <20 kg; men, <30 kg) and/or poor physical performance (gait speed ≤0.8 m/s). To obtain reduced skeletal muscle mass, the skeletal muscle mass index ≤6.37 kg/m 2 for women and ≤8.90 kg/m 2 for men was used. Cognitive function, Charlson index, admission profile (clinical and surgical), smoking, falls suffered in the last year and physical inactivity prior to admission were also evaluated. The frequency of sarcopenia was described in percentages with their respective confidence intervals and logistic regression was performed for multivariate analysis of factors associated with sarcopenia. Results: Among the 110 patients included, the frequency of sarcopenia was 21.8%, with 10.0% being of the severe type. There was a predominance of clinical profile (59.1%), such as heart disease (20.0%), pneumonia (13.6%) and skin infections (9.1%), with a Charlson index of 5.4 ± 1.8. The factors associated with sarcopenia were age (OR = 1.14; 95% CI = 1.06 to 1.23), clinical profile on admission (OR = 5.15; 95% CI = 1.16-22.9) and smoking (OR = 7.8; 95% CI = 1.53-39.9). Conclusions: The frequency of sarcopenia in elderly hospitalized patients was high (1 in 5 elderly) and anthropometric equation can be a viable and inexpensive alternative to screening and programming intervention in this population.

Association between Loss of Skeletal Muscle Mass and Mortality and Tumor Recurrence in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Sarcopenia is associated with many adverse outcomes including impaired cognition, depression, risks of fall, higher incidence of hospitalization, and mortality [10,11,33,34]. In 2016, a meta-analysis of 10 studies demonstrated how patients with sarcopenia had an increased rate of mortality [35].…”

Existe associação entre massa e força muscular esquelética em idosos hospitalizados?

“…The sample calculation was based on the main objective of the initial project, that is, to identify the frequency of sarcopenia in hospitalized elderly persons, having adopted an expected proportion of sarcopenia of 15% and a 7% margin of error. 9 The primary variables were anthropometric measurements (body weight in kilograms, height in meters, skinfolds and limb circumference), cognitive status evaluated by the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), handgrip strength and the Charlson index. The assessors were the research physiotherapists themselves, who were previously trained with the assessment tools in order to minimize measurement bias.…”

Skeletal Muscle Regulates Metabolism via Interorgan Crosstalk: Roles in Health and Disease

“…14 Nonetheless, specific criteria and measures can be used to diagnose sarcopenia or cachexia. 13,27,62,63 Sarcopenia can be diagnosed when a patient has muscle mass that is at least 2 SDs below the relevant population mean and also presents with a low gait (walking) speed. In addition, low muscle strength and general physical performance may be taken into consideration.…”