Definitions of Sarcopenia: Associations with Previous Falls and Fracture in a Population Sample

Abstract

Background-Sarcopenia is common in later life and may be associated with adverse health outcomes such as disability, falls and fracture. There is no consensus definition for its diagnosis although diagnostic algorithms have been proposedby the European Working Group for Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP), the International Working Group on Sarcopenia (IWGS) and the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health Sarcopenia Project (FNIH). More recently, Binkley and colleagues devised a score-based system for the diagnosis of "dysmobility syndrome" in an attempt to combine adverse musculoskeletal phenotypes, including sarcopenia and osteoporosis, in order to identify older individuals at particular risk. We applied these criteria to participants from the Hertfordshire Cohort Study (HCS) to define their prevalence in an unselected cohort of UK community dwelling older adults and assess their relationships with previous falls and fracture.

Dysmobility syndrome: current perspectives

“…Following the exclusion of duplicates and papers not meeting the other inclusion criteria, five papers were retained for full review. These included three cross-sectional studies,9,16,17 one case–control study,18 and one paper analyzing longitudinal data reporting information relating to dysmobility syndrome 19. There were no identified intervention studies of any nature investigating approaches to slow down or reverse progression of dysmobility syndrome.…”

“…Three of the papers used the same six cut points as Binkley et al,9 but Looker19 used different cut points for low muscle strength, osteoporosis, and falling risk; Ioloascon et al17 used different cut points or definitions for low lean mass, slow gait speed, low grip strength, and obesity; and Clynes et al16 used a different definition for obesity. One paper18 appeared to utilize a moderately different classification system, classifying dysmobility syndrome if all three criteria of high fat mass, falls in past 2 years, and osteoporosis were present (instead of any three of the six measures reported by Binkley et al being present).…”

Muscle Strength and Muscle Mass in Older Patients during Hospitalization: The EMPOWER Study

“…Low muscle mass was associated with increased prevalence of delirium in older participants living in nursing homes [12] . Low muscle mass and muscle strength were associated with increased prevalence of falls in the past year in community-dwelling older adults [13] and in older outpatients [23] , and with dependence in ADL and malnourishment in older hospitalized patients [14] . A recent systematic review summarized the negative consequences of sarcopenia, including falls, functional limitations, functional decline, and mortality in various older populations [24] .…”

“…However, the included studies were small and did not identify individual risk factors for a decrease in muscle strength and muscle mass. Due to an impaired physiological reserve, patients at risk of geriatric conditions like delirium, falls, malnutrition, and functional disability might have an even greater risk of physical deterioration compared to patients not at risk [12][13][14][15] .…”

Whole-body electromyostimulation to fight sarcopenic obesity in community-dwelling older women at risk. Resultsof the randomized controlled FORMOsA-sarcopenic obesity study

“…The clinical implication of this geriatric syndrome includes low functional capacity, falls, and loss of independence [4][5][6] and also cardiometabolic risks, i.e., increased morbidity and mortality [7]. Since demographic changes will intensify this situation [8], effective prevention strategies are of high priority.…”