Diagnostic Criteria and Prevalence of Sarcopenia in the Elderly

The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of sarcopenia in people over 65 years of age and to analyze the instrumental and functional methods of the examination of skeletal muscle in the elderly. We carried out a case-control study of 230 participants aged 65 years and older, with an average age of 74 +/- 6.5 years. Patients were divided into three age groups: first, 65-74 years old; second, 75-84 years old; third, 85 years and older. The muscle mass was calculated according to the index of appendicular muscle mass (AMM/m(2)) adjusted for patient's height, which was determined via dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Muscle strength was measured with a Jamar hand dynamometer, and muscle function was determined with the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB tests). The prevalence of sarcopenia was 30% in the presented sample and increased with increasing patient age. There were no significant differences in the incidence of the most common chronic diseases, except for obesity, which was less common in sarcopenic patients than in nonsarcopenic patients (p< 0.0001). The results showed that sarcopenic patients had a lower AMM index (p< 0.001) and muscle strength (p< 0.001) than nonsarcopenic patients. The overall score in SPPB tests was low in both groups; however, it was significantly lower in sarcopenic patients than in nonsarcopenic patients (p= 0.035) due to balance tests.