Ability of SARC-F to Find Probable Sarcopenia Cases in Older Adults.


Creative Commons License

Erbaş Saçar D., Kılıç C., Karan M. A., Bahat G.

The journal of nutrition, health & aging, vol.25, no.6, pp.757-761, 2021 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 25 Issue: 6
  • Publication Date: 2021
  • Doi Number: 10.1007/s12603-021-1617-3
  • Journal Name: The journal of nutrition, health & aging
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, PASCAL, Abstracts in Social Gerontology, AgeLine, CAB Abstracts, CINAHL, EMBASE, Food Science & Technology Abstracts, MEDLINE, Veterinary Science Database
  • Page Numbers: pp.757-761
  • Keywords: Sarcopenia, probable sarcopenia, screening, diagnosis, geriatric practice, MINI-NUTRITIONAL ASSESSMENT, DISABILITY
  • Istanbul University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Background/objective: In 2018 EWGSOP2 has suggested low muscle strength as the primary parameter of sarcopenia. The consensus has recommended SARC-F questionnaire as a screening test to find cases with low muscle strength which has been designated as probable sarcopenia. We aimed to study the ability of SARC-F to find probable sarcopenia cases in older patients.

Design: Retrospective, cross-sectional.

Setting: Istanbul University Istanbul Faculty of Medicine.

Participants: A total of 456 older adults (71.1% female, mean age: 74.6±6.6 years).

Measurements: We diagnosed probable sarcopenia by EWGSOP 2 criteria, i.e., presence of low handgrip strength (HGS). SARC-F questionnaire was performed by all participants. We used a receiver operating characteristics curve to obtain SARC-F cut-off values to detect probable sarcopenia and calculated the area under the curve and 95% confidence interval (CI).

Results: We included 456 participants (71.1% female; mean age: 74.6 ± 6.6 years). Probable sarcopenia was present in 58 (12.7%). SARC-F cut-off ≥ 2 presented the best balance between sensitivity and specificity (sensitivity: 64.9% vs specificity: 67.9%) to detect probable sarcopenia [the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) = 0.710; 95% Cl: 0.660-0.752, p< 0.001]. SARC-F with a cut-off point ≥ 1 had sensitivity 84.2% and specificity 40.5% and SARC-F ≥ 4 had high specificity 88.2% with 40.3% sensitivity.

Conclusion: SARC-F is a good screening tool for sarcopenia in practice. Our findings suggest SARC-F ≥ 1 cut-off point to be used as the probable sarcopenia screening tool regarding its high sensitivity. Consequently, SARC-F ≥ 4 cut-off is better to be used if one prefers to exclude probable sarcopenia.