Sarcopenia: burden and challenges for public health

Abstract

Sarcopenia, operationally defined as the loss of muscle mass and muscle function, is a major health condition associated with ageing, and contributes to many components of public health at both the patient and the societal levels. Currently, no consensual definition of sarcopenia exists and therefore it is still a challenge to establish the actual prevalence of sarcopenia or to establish the direct and indirect impacts of sarcopenia on public health. Anyway, this geriatric syndrome represents a huge potential public health issue because of its multiple clinical and societal consequences. Moreover, all these aspects have an impact on healthcare costs both for the patient and the society. Therefore, the implementation of effective and broadly applicable preventive and therapeutic interventions has become a medical and societal challenge for the growing number of older persons affected by sarcopenia and its disabling complications.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/2049-3258-72-45) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Prevalence of sarcopenia in community‐dwelling older people of Mexico City using the EGWSOP (European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People) diagnostic criteria

“…The prevalence of sarcopenia is higher in men and increases with age [19] as reported in our study. Statistically significant differences were maintained in all measurements relative to sarcopenia by gender.…”

“…In our study it was observed that among persons aged 70 years and older the prevalence was 16.2% (15.1% in women and 18.2% in men). The differences in the prevalence reported in the literature with our results appear to be attributed to the age of the population and to the methods used for the evaluation as well as cut-off points used for the diagnosis of sarcopenia [19]. Though, previous studies, remark the special value of comparison of elderly population with the subjects under similar characteristics, to reflect with precision the trend of sarcopenia prevalence [20][21][22][23].…”

“…Sarcopenia has become a health condition associated with aging and represents a potential public health problem due to its multiple clinical, more hospitalization days and social consequences, all these aspects have an important economic burden for health care, both for the patient and for society [19,34]. The detection of sarcopenia could lead to improving health and offers an opportunity for implementing preventive and treatment interventions of sarcopenia in community-dwelling older people.…”

“…A recent study clearly indicates that sarcopenia and frailty are two different entities based on existing definitions. Therefore, it is recommended that the diagnosis for sarcopenia and frailty be made as separate entities as well as their treatment considerations [19].…”

Muscle Mass and Quality of Life of Elderly People in Panti Tresna Werdha in Bandung

“…1 World Health Organization (WHO) memprediksikan pada tahun 2050 setidaknya terdapat 2 milyar orang berusia 65 tahun ke atas dibandingkan dengan 600 juta pada saat ini. 1,2 Lansia mengalami proses degeneratif yang berlangsung secara progresif, dengan salah satu manifestasinya berupa penurunan massa otot pada lansia. Proses terjadinya penurunan massa otot melibatkan interaksi sistem saraf tepi dan sentral, hormonal, status nutrisi, imunologis, dan aktivitas fisik yang kurang.…”