A vast variety of chronic diseases is associated with changes in body composition.
Reduced lean mass, that is, skeletal muscle mass, is particularly important with regard
to the patients' quality of life, because it may yield reductions in exercise capacity
and activities of daily living.
1
Skeletal muscle mass of both arms and legs combined has been termed appendicular
skeletal muscle mass. The term sarcopenia describes a status in which this appendicular
skeletal muscle mass decreases in excess of 2 SDs of the mean of a healthy young reference
population.
2
,
3
,
4
In this context, it is important to note that sarcopenia per se is not usually associated
with weight loss. Therefore, sophisticated technologies are required to describe this
condition and to make a correct diagnosis. Cachexia, on the other hand, describes
a condition that is associated with loss of more than 5% of body weight over 12 months
or less and the presence of a chronic illness, such as heart failure, chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease, or cancer.
5
The presence of cachexia can be diagnosed just by using weighing scales and by comparing
the patient's stated body weight 1 year ago with his or her present weight.To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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© 2015 AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
