J Nutr Health Aging
THE JOURNAL OF NUTRITION, HEALTH & AGING©
A PILOT STUDY OF THE SARC-F SCALE ON SCREENING SARCOPENIA AND PHYSICAL DISABILITY IN THE CHINESE OLDER PEOPLE L. CAO1, S. CHEN1, C. ZOU1, X. DING1, L. GAO1, Z. LIAO1, G. LIU2, T.K. MALMSTROM3,4, J.E. MORLEY4, J.H. FLAHERTY4, Y. AN5, B. DONG1 1. Center of Gerontology and Geriatrics, West China hospital, Sichuan University; 2. Chinese Cochrane Center, West China hospital, Sichuan University; 3. Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Saint Louis University School of Medicine; 4. Division of Geriatric Medicine, Saint Louis University School of Medicine; 5. West China School of Public Health, Sichuan University. Corresponding author: Birong Dong, No. 37 Guoxuexiang, Wuhou District, Chengdu, China, 610041, [email protected], FAX: 028-85422321.
Abstract: Introduction: The SARC-F scale is a newly developed tool to diagnose sarcopenia and obviate the need for measurement of muscle mass. SARC-F ≥ 4 is defined as sarcopenia. The questions of SARC-F cover physical functions targeting sarcopenia or initial presentation for sarcopenia. The aim of the study is to explore the application of SARC-F in the Chinese people. Methods: Two hundred thirty Chinese people over 65 years old were assessed by the SARC-F scale, PSMS, Lawton IADL and the shortened version of the falls efficacy scaleinternational(the short FES-I). Hospitalization was investigated. Physical performance and strength were measured. The association of SARC-F with other scales or tests was analyzed. Results: Poor physical performance and grip strength were associated with SARC-F ≥ 4 independently (P/=90 Sources of participants community nursing home outpatient dept. Geriatrics ward Chronic diseases number none 1 to 2 ≥3 Total
n
%
143 87
62.2 37.8
38 69 102 11
16.5 34.8 44.3 4.7
32 95 54 49
13.9 41.3 23.5 21.3
14 129 86 230
6.1 56.1 37.4 100
Distribution of SARC-F score in the participants Proportions of SARC-F scores in the different subgroups of participants are shown in figure 1. There is a trend that people with medium SARC-F scores were less than those with high or low SARC-F scores in both female and male subgroups. Younger people showed a higher proportion of low SARC-F scores while proportion of SARC-F scores over 4 increased with the increasing age. All community participants and patients discharging from the geriatric ward had SARC-F scores of 6 or lower and a scores for over 80% of people living in the community ranged from 0 to 2 points. The subgroup living in nursing homes showed the highest proportion of SARC-F scores over 4. People with fewer chronic diseases had lower SARC-F scores. Poor physical performance and grip strength were associated with SARC-F defined sarcopenia Four meter walking speed, timed up and go test, SPPB and grip strength were tested in the study. Participants in the group
J Nutr Health Aging
THE JOURNAL OF NUTRITION, HEALTH & AGING© Figure 1 SARC-F score distribution in different genders (A), age groups (B), participant sources (C) and Chronic diseases number groups (D)
with SARC-F≥4 had significantly worse performances in all the four tests than those in SARC-F＜4 group (table 2). All the physical functions and grip strength confirmed independent predictors of SARC-F≥4 (table 3). As a scale to evaluate physical disability, the SARC-F was compared with various cutoff points of physical function and strength tests. The agreement of SARC-F judgment and results of the tests are shown as Cohen's к values in table 4. The highest к values for different tests range from 0.391 to 0.635. The best cutoff points are
THE JOURNAL OF NUTRITION, HEALTH & AGING©
A PILOT STUDY OF THE SARC-F SCALE ON SCREENING SARCOPENIA AND PHYSICAL DISABILITY IN THE CHINESE OLDER PEOPLE L. CAO1, S. CHEN1, C. ZOU1, X. DING1, L. GAO1, Z. LIAO1, G. LIU2, T.K. MALMSTROM3,4, J.E. MORLEY4, J.H. FLAHERTY4, Y. AN5, B. DONG1 1. Center of Gerontology and Geriatrics, West China hospital, Sichuan University; 2. Chinese Cochrane Center, West China hospital, Sichuan University; 3. Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Saint Louis University School of Medicine; 4. Division of Geriatric Medicine, Saint Louis University School of Medicine; 5. West China School of Public Health, Sichuan University. Corresponding author: Birong Dong, No. 37 Guoxuexiang, Wuhou District, Chengdu, China, 610041, [email protected], FAX: 028-85422321.
Abstract: Introduction: The SARC-F scale is a newly developed tool to diagnose sarcopenia and obviate the need for measurement of muscle mass. SARC-F ≥ 4 is defined as sarcopenia. The questions of SARC-F cover physical functions targeting sarcopenia or initial presentation for sarcopenia. The aim of the study is to explore the application of SARC-F in the Chinese people. Methods: Two hundred thirty Chinese people over 65 years old were assessed by the SARC-F scale, PSMS, Lawton IADL and the shortened version of the falls efficacy scaleinternational(the short FES-I). Hospitalization was investigated. Physical performance and strength were measured. The association of SARC-F with other scales or tests was analyzed. Results: Poor physical performance and grip strength were associated with SARC-F ≥ 4 independently (P/=90 Sources of participants community nursing home outpatient dept. Geriatrics ward Chronic diseases number none 1 to 2 ≥3 Total
n
%
143 87
62.2 37.8
38 69 102 11
16.5 34.8 44.3 4.7
32 95 54 49
13.9 41.3 23.5 21.3
14 129 86 230
6.1 56.1 37.4 100
Distribution of SARC-F score in the participants Proportions of SARC-F scores in the different subgroups of participants are shown in figure 1. There is a trend that people with medium SARC-F scores were less than those with high or low SARC-F scores in both female and male subgroups. Younger people showed a higher proportion of low SARC-F scores while proportion of SARC-F scores over 4 increased with the increasing age. All community participants and patients discharging from the geriatric ward had SARC-F scores of 6 or lower and a scores for over 80% of people living in the community ranged from 0 to 2 points. The subgroup living in nursing homes showed the highest proportion of SARC-F scores over 4. People with fewer chronic diseases had lower SARC-F scores. Poor physical performance and grip strength were associated with SARC-F defined sarcopenia Four meter walking speed, timed up and go test, SPPB and grip strength were tested in the study. Participants in the group
J Nutr Health Aging
THE JOURNAL OF NUTRITION, HEALTH & AGING© Figure 1 SARC-F score distribution in different genders (A), age groups (B), participant sources (C) and Chronic diseases number groups (D)
with SARC-F≥4 had significantly worse performances in all the four tests than those in SARC-F＜4 group (table 2). All the physical functions and grip strength confirmed independent predictors of SARC-F≥4 (table 3). As a scale to evaluate physical disability, the SARC-F was compared with various cutoff points of physical function and strength tests. The agreement of SARC-F judgment and results of the tests are shown as Cohen's к values in table 4. The highest к values for different tests range from 0.391 to 0.635. The best cutoff points are
