The SARC-F Score on Admission Predicts Falls during Hospitalization in Older Adults

Prognostic Value of New Sarcopenia Screening Tool in the Elderly-SARC-GLOBAL

Sarcopenia screening tools have a low capacity to predict adverse outcomes that are consequences of sarcopenia in the elderly population. This study aimed to evaluate the ability of a new sarcopenia screening tool SARC-GLOBAL to predict negative clinical outcomes in the elderly. A total of 395 individuals were evaluated in a 42-month period. The screening tools SARC-GLOBAL, SARC-F, and SARC-CalF and the diagnosis of sarcopenia according to European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older Persons (EWGSOP2) were performed at the beginning of the study. Logistic and Poisson regression models were applied to assess the predictive value of the tools for the odds and risks of negative clinical outcomes, respectively. The most common negative clinical outcome in the followed population was falls (12.9%), followed by infections (12.4%), hospitalizations (11.8%), fractures (4.3%), and deaths (2.7%). Both SARC-GLOBAL and SARC-F were similar in predicting the odds of falls and hospitalizations during the follow up period, however SARC-CalF only predicted the odds of hospitalizations at 42 months.

The role of ultrasonographically measured rectus femoris muscle on falls in community-dwelling older adults: a single-center study

BACKGROUND

There are many risk factors for falls and sarcopenia has emerged as an important risk factor. Measuring muscle mass is a useful method to determine sarcopenia. Our aim was to determine the difference in muscle mass between older adults with (fallers) and without history of falls (non-fallers) using ultrasonography (US).

METHODS

Two hundred ten geriatric patients were enrolled. Fall was defined as an event declared by the person who fell. Sarcopenia was defined by EWGSOP2 criteria. Muscle mass was assessed by muscle ultrasonography of five different muscles.

RESULTS

The mean age of the whole study group was 74.1 ± 6.3 years and 58.1% (n = 122) of the total study population was female. Among the participants, 69 patients (31.3%) had a fall history. The sarcopenia ratio was 23.2% in the fallers, and it was 13.7% in the non-fallers, the difference was statistically insignificant (p > 0.05), the measurement of rectus femoris muscle (RF) thickness and cross-sectional area (RFCSA) were significantly smaller among the fallers than non-fallers (p < 0.05). The ROC analysis revealed that RF and RFCSA could determine the history of falls [for RF area under curve (AUC): 0.606, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.526-0.686, p = 0.010 and for RFCSA AUC: 0.621, 95% CI 0.538-0.704, p = 0.004]. RFCSA was statistically relevant with a history of falls, regardless of age, sex, multimorbidity, incontinence, nutritional status, and frailty status.

CONCLUSION

Decreased RF and RFCSA determined by muscle US is a potentially modifiable risk factor for falls in older adults. Muscle US may be used for determining the risk of falls in older adults.

Relationships between Pre-Stroke SARC-F Scores, Disability, and Risk of Malnutrition and Functional Outcomes after Stroke-A Prospective Cohort Study

SARC-F is a screening tool for sarcopenia; however, it has not yet been established whether SARC-F scores predict functional outcomes. Therefore, we herein investigated the relationship between SARC-F scores and functional outcomes in stroke patients. The primary outcome in the present study was the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) 3 months after stroke. The relationship between SARC-F scores and poor functional outcomes was examined using a logistic regression analysis. Furthermore, the applicability of SARC-F scores to the assessment of poor functional outcomes was analyzed based on the area under the receiver operating curve (ROC). Eighty-one out of the 324 patients enrolled in the present study (25%) had poor functional outcomes (mRS ≥ 4). The results of the multivariate analysis revealed a correlation between SARC-F scores (OR = 1.29, 95% CI = 1.05–1.59, p = 0.02) and poor functional outcomes. A cut-off SARC-F score ≥ 4 had low-to-moderate sensitivity (47.4%) and high specificity (87.3%). The present results suggest that the measurement of pre-stroke SARC-F scores is useful for predicting the outcomes of stroke patients.