Prevalence of sarcopenia assessed by the EWGSOP1 and EWGSOP2 criteria in long-lived community dwelling older people

Abstract

Sarcopenia was initially described as a reduction in overall muscle mass, which occurs throughout the aging process. Some publications have shown that the definition and classification of sarcopenia are not fully established and the categorization of this syndrome has undergone changes, as noted in the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) publications. Therefore, the objective of the study was to present the prevalence of sarcopenia using the classifications proposed by EWGSOP1 and 2 in long-lived elderly (> 80 years) in the Federal District. This is a cross-sectional study in which the following variables were assessed: sociodemographic, muscle mass by Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DXA), muscle strength by hydraulic dynamometer and physical performance using the 4,6 meters. Participated in the study 117 elderly people with a mean age of 83.7 ± 3.51. The prevalence of sarcopenia was 3.5% and 4.3% by the EWGSOP1 and 2 algorithms, respectively. By EWGSOP1, 94% of the sample was classified as no sarcopenia and 3.5% as sarcopenic. By EWGSOP2, 50% were classified as probable sarcopenia, 43% as no sarcopenia and 4.3% as sarcopenic. The results allow to verify the divergences in the prevalence of sarcopenia in the adopted criteria, mainly between the classification of pre-sarcopenia and probable sarcopenia. Thus, it is noted the importance of continuing studies that deepen the investigation of these classifications, especially in long-lived elderly.