Prevalence of sarcopenia in older women and level of agreement between the diagnostic instruments proposed by the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People 2 (EWGSOP2)

Abstract

Background The European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People 2 (EWGSOP2) proposed the use of different diagnostic tools to assess sarcopenia. This study aimed to determine prevalence rates of sarcopenia according to the diagnostic instruments proposed by EWGSOP2 and to assess their level of agreement in older Brazilian women. Methods A cross-sectional study with 161 community-dwelling older Brazilian women. Probable sarcopenia was assessed through Handgrip Strength (HGS) and the 5-times sit-to-stand test (5XSST). In addition to reduced strength, Appendicular Skeletal Muscle Mass (ASM) (obtained by Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) and ASM/height² were considered for diagnosis confirmation. Sarcopenia severity was determined by reduced muscle strength and mass and poor functional performance assessed by Gait Speed (GS), Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), and Timed Up and Go test (TUG). McNemar’s test and Cochran’s Q-test were used to compare sarcopenia prevalence. Cohen’s Kappa and Fleiss’s Kappa tests were used to assess the level of agreement. Results The prevalence of probable sarcopenia was significantly different (p < 0.05) when using HGS (12.8%) and 5XSST (40.6%). Regarding confirmed sarcopenia, the prevalence was lower when using ASM/height² than with ASM. Regarding severity, the use of SPPB resulted in a higher prevalence in relation to GS and TUG. Conclusion There were differences in the prevalence rates of sarcopenia and low agreement between the diagnostic instruments proposed by the EWGSOP2. The findings suggest that these issues must be considered in the discussion on the concept and assessment of sarcopenia, which could ultimately help to better identify patients with this disease in different populations.

Analysis of sarcopenic obesity prevalence and diagnostic agreement according to the 2022 ESPEN and EASO Consensus in hospitalized older adults with severe obesity

“…Although the isokinetic assessment showed a positive high correlation with the 5-SSt ( 33 ), it may reflect different results in terms of muscle function according to the sex and age of the sample. In another study, similarly to our findings, no concordance was reported between the two screening tests (5-SSt and HGS) for detecting probable sarcopenia in non-obese Brazilian older females ( 34 ). The authors suggested that this could be because HGS is a more specific test for assessing strength in the upper limbs, while the 5-SSt evaluates the strength of lower limbs and is commonly used as a proxy measure for physical performance.…”

Assessing the causal association between human blood metabolites and grip strength：a mendelian randomization analysis

“…as an important measure for the diagnosis of malnutrition and the assessment of muscle mass in the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) standards and the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) guidelines [40]. However, handgrip strength can only re ect muscle mass and cannot completely replace sarcopenia, and further assessment of other related indicators of sarcopenia is needed.…”

Sarcopenia Prevalence and Risk Factors Among Older Adults in Bangkok, Thailand: A Cross-Sectional Study

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