Abstract
Objectives
The SARC-F is a simple sarcopenia screening tool comprising 5 assessment items: strength,
assistance walking, rising from a chair, climbing stairs, and falls. The present study
aimed to examine the validation of the Korean version of SARC-F for elderly individuals
residing in communities.
Setting and Participants
From the first year baseline data of Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study, a total
of 1222 elderly individuals (70 years and older) who met the study's selection criteria
were included in the analysis.
Measurements
The SARC-F was translated into the Korean language in a culturally responsive way.
The total score was calculated by adding the scores on the 5 items. The participants
were divided into 2 groups according to the total score (SARC-F <4 vs SARC-F ≥4),
and its correlations with various factors including walking speed, hand grip, ability
to perform everyday activities, and health-related quality of life, were examined
by sex. In addition, the tool's validity was analyzed by comparing it with the European,
international, and Asian sarcopenia working group diagnostic criteria for sarcopenia.
Results
The prevalence of sarcopenia according to the SARC-F was 4.2% in among men and 15.3%
in women. The sensitivity of the SARC-F was low compared with the European, international,
and Asian criteria of sarcopenia [male (M): 11%–60%, female (F): 28%–34%]. However,
SARC-F showed a high specificity (M: 96.6%–98%, F: 85%–87.7%) and a high negative
predictive value (M: 89.2%–99.3%, F: 88.5%–98.4%). The participants in the SARC-F
≥4 group had poorer grip strength, slower walking speed, poorer physical performance,
poorer cognitive function, and a lower quality of life (a high EuroQol-5 dimension
score) than the participants in the SARC-F <4 group.
Conclusions
The Korean language version of SARC-F showed a high specificity and high negative
predictive value. As such, the tool is useful for briefly ruling out sarcopenia in
a clinical setting. In addition, diagnosis of sarcopenia using the SARC-F was found
to be associated with physical performance, cognitive function, and the quality of
life.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 23, 2017
Footnotes
This research was supported by a grant of the Korea Health Technology R&D Project through the Korean Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), funded by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Republic of Korea (grant number: HI15C3153).
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
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© 2017 AMDA - The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.
