Abstract
Objectives
To compare the diagnostic value of the 5-component questionnaire that measures strength,
assistance walking, rise from a chair, climb stairs, and falls (SARC-F) and SARC-F
combined with calf circumference (SARC-CalF) for screening sarcopenia in community-dwelling
older adults.
Design
A diagnostic accuracy study.
Setting
A community in Chengdu, China.
Participants
Older adults aged 60 years or older.
Measurements
Muscle mass, muscle strength, and physical performance were estimated using a bioimpedance
analysis device, handgrip strength, and gait speed, respectively. Four commonly used
diagnostic criteria [European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP),
Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS), International Working Group on Sarcopenia
(IWGS), and Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) criteria] were
applied as the reference standard, separately. The sensitivity/specificity analyses
of the SARC-F and SARC-CalF methods were evaluated. The receiver operating characteristics
curves and the area under the receiver operating characteristics curves were used
to compare the overall diagnostic accuracy of the SARC-F and SARC-CalF for identifying
sarcopenia.
Results
We included 160 men and 224 women. Based on the 4 diagnostic criteria, the prevalence
of sarcopenia ranged from 11.7% to 25.0%. Using the AWGS criteria as the reference
standard, the SARC-CalF had a sensitivity of 60.7% and a specificity of 94.7% in the
whole study population, whereas the SARC-F had a sensitivity of 29.5% and a specificity
of 98.1%. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curves for SARC-CalF
and SARC-F were 0.92 (95% confidence interval 0.89‒0.94) and 0.89 (95% confidence
interval 0.86‒0.92), respectively (P = .003). We obtained similar results when using the other 3 criteria as the reference
standard. Subgroup analyses revealed similar results in both men and women.
Conclusions
SARC-CalF significantly improves the sensitivity and overall diagnostic accuracy of
SARC-F for screening sarcopenia in community-dwelling older adults.
Keywords
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Article info
Footnotes
This study was supported by the Sichuan Medical Association (No. S17054). The sponsor had no role in the design, methods, data collection, analysis or preparation of the manuscript.
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
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© 2017 AMDA - The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.
