The Impact of Low Muscle Mass Definition on the Prevalence of Sarcopenia in Older Australians

Abstract

Background. Sarcopenia is the presence of low muscle mass and low muscle function. The aim of this study was to establish cutoffs for low muscle mass using three published methods and to compare the prevalence of sarcopenia in older Australians. Methods. Gender specific cutoffs levels were identified for low muscle mass using three different methods. Low grip strength was determined using established cutoffs of <30 kg for men and <20 kg for women to estimate the prevalence of sarcopenia. Results. Gender specific cutoffs levels for low muscle mass identified were (a) <6.89 kg/m2 for men and <4.32 kg/m2 for women, <2 standard deviation (SD) of a young reference population; (b) <7.36 kg/m2 for men and <5.81 kg/m2 for women from the lowest 20% percentile of the older group; and (c) <−2.15 for men and <−1.42 for women from the lowest 20% of the residuals of linear regressions of appendicular skeletal mass, adjusted for fat mass and height. Prevalence of sarcopenia in older (65 years and older) people by these three methods for men was 2.5%, 6.2%, and 6.4% and for women 0.3%, 9.3%, and 8.5%, respectively. Conclusions. Sarcopenia is common but consensus on the best method to confirm low muscle mass is required.

Prevalence of sarcopenia in community‐dwelling older people of Mexico City using the EGWSOP (European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People) diagnostic criteria

“…The differences in the prevalence reported in the literature with our results appear to be attributed to the age of the population and to the methods used for the evaluation as well as cut-off points used for the diagnosis of sarcopenia [19]. Though, previous studies, remark the special value of comparison of elderly population with the subjects under similar characteristics, to reflect with precision the trend of sarcopenia prevalence [20][21][22][23]. Our study could be considered as one of the first studies referent to describe the prevalence of sarcopenia in urban community-dwelling older people in Latin America.…”

“…The cut-off point used in our study for low muscle mass is within the range mentioned previously (MMI <6.1 kg/m 2 in women and MMI <8.5 kg/m 2 in men). Additional studies in different populations need to be analyzed [20,21,[26][27][28].…”

Does Use of Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT) in Men with Prostate Cancer Increase the Risk of Sarcopenia?

“…To our knowledge, these cut-offs have not been applied in men treated with ADT; however, the < 30 kg cut-off was shown to identify 8.0% of 5934 healthy older men aged 65 years or older [17]. In contrast, the prevalence of low handgrip strength using the same cut-off was 18% among 611 healthy Australian men aged 65 years or greater [46]. Therefore, our findings appear to suggest that men treated with ADT do not have compromised handgrip strength.…”

Physical activity and incidence of sarcopenia: the population-based AGES—Reykjavik Study

“…Model 2 additionally included BMI, smoking status, total number of comorbidities, depressive symptoms, weight loss and cognitive function. As the EWGSOP did not provide cut-points for low muscle mass assessed by CT, the 20th percentile was chosen for the main analyses as this cut-point has been used in previous studies [25,26] and the 10th percentile for the sensitivity analyses.…”

“…The EWGSOP does not provide CT cut-points for low muscle mass; therefore, the lowest gender-specific 20th percentile of the thigh total muscle cross-sectional area (<83.2 cm 2 in females, <116.5 cm 2 in males) was used in the main analyses and the lowest gender-specific 10th percentile (<78.2 cm 2 in females, <108.2 cm 2 in males) in the sensitivity analyses. The 20th percentile method has been used before in sarcopenia research using DXA [25,26]. Maximum grip strength of the dominant hand was measured by a computerised dynamometer affixed to an adjustable special chair (Good Strength software, Metitur, Finland), with the elbow flexed at 90°and armrests adjusted for height so that the shoulders were relaxed [27].…”