Relationship Between the Sarcopenia Diagnostic Cut-points and Functionality in Older Adults

Sarcopenia is a geriatric syndrome that involves a gradual and generalized loss of the mass and strength of the skeletal muscles. Currently, there is an international debate about the criteria and reference values for the sarcopenia diagnosis, and the main scientific societies encourage improving research on this. The biggest problem lies in the assessment of the diagnostic criterion of muscle mass while the criterion of muscular strength seems safer and more robust. Experts point out the need to adjust the muscle mass indexes to the characteristics of the population studied, and the convenience of relating the three diagnostic criteria of sarcopenia (muscle mass and strength, and walking speed) with other variables that report about functionality and frailty in older adults.

The main objective is to establish different cut-off points for the diagnostic criteria of sarcopenia and relate them with other instruments for assessing functionality in older population of Valencia Province.

To this purpose, data will be collected through various tests and questionnaires about: clinical, demographic and anthropometric characteristics; muscle mass; muscle strength; walk speed; physical and cognitive function; nutritional status; self-perception of health; comorbidity and frailty. With this information it will be possible, as primary outcome, to determine a more sensitive, reliable and valid muscle mass index to predict sarcopenia, and, as a secondary outcome, to establish the relationship between the multicriteria diagnostic of sarcopenia with the functional and frailty variables.