Abstract
Objective
To examine the screening ability of SARC-F for older adults using a meta-analysis.
Design
Meta-analysis.
Setting and Participants
The literature review was conducted using MEDLINE, Cochrane Database of Systematic
Reviews, and ClinicalTrials.gov. Articles written on and after 1960 that included data regarding the sensitivity
and specificity of SARC-F's diagnostic criteria for sarcopenia in older adults were
searched.
Measures
The bivariate random effects model was used to calculate the summary estimates of
sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio
(NLR), and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR). The summary receiver operating characteristic
curve was used to summarize the overall test performance.
Results
Seven studies involving a total of 12,800 subjects met the eligibility criteria of
our study. The pooled results of sensitivity, specificity, PLR, NLR, and DOR with
the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People as the reference standard
were 0.21 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.13-0.31], 0.90 (95% CI, 0.83-0.94), 2.16
(95% CI, 1.51-3.09), 0.87 (95% CI, 0.80-0.95), and 2.47 (95% CI, 1.64-3.74), respectively.
Overall, we achieved similar pooled results of sensitivity and specificity for studies
using the International Working Group on Sarcopenia and Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia
as the reference standards. Because few studies used the Foundation National Institute
of Health reference standards, a meta-analysis was not performed.
Conclusions/Implications
Although the screening sensitivity performance of SARC-F was poor, its specificity
was high; thus, it is an effective tool for selecting subjects who should undergo
further testing for confirming a diagnosis of sarcopenia.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: May 17, 2018
Footnotes
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Identification
Copyright
© 2018 AMDA - The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.
