The Prevalence of Sarcopenia among Hunan Province Community-Dwelling Adults Aged 60 Years and Older and Its Relationship with Lifestyle: Diagnostic Criteria from the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 2019 Update

Different Diagnostic Criteria for Determining the Prevalence of Sarcopenia in Older Adults: A Systematic Review

Background: Sarcopenia is defined as a loss of muscle mass, strength, and physical function associated with aging. It is due to a combination of genetic, environmental, and physiological factors. It is also associated with an increased risk of health problems. Since there are many different researchers in the field, with their own algorithms and cut-off points, there is no single criterion for diagnosis. This review aims to compare the prevalence of sarcopenia according to these different diagnostic criteria in older adult populations by age group and sex. Methods: Different databases were searched: Web of Science, Pubmed, Dialnet, Scopus, and Cochrane. The keywords used were "sarcopenia", "diagnosis", "prevalence", "assessment", "aged", "aging" and "older". Studies conducted in a population aged ≥65 assessing the prevalence of sarcopenia were selected. Results: Nineteen articles met the inclusion criteria, with a total of 33,515 subjects, 38.08% female and 61.42% male, at a mean age of 74.52. The diagnostic algorithms used were 52.63% AWGS2, 21.05% EWGSOP2, 10.53% AWGS1 and EWGS1, and 5.26% FNIH. Prevalence ranged from 1.7% to 37.47%, but was higher in males and increased with age. Conclusions: The prevalence of sarcopenia varies depending on the diagnostic algorithm used, but it increases with age and is higher in men. The EWGSOP2 and AWGS2 are the most used diagnostic criteria and measure the same variables but have different cut-off points. Of these two diagnostic algorithms, the one with the highest prevalence of sarcopenia and severe sarcopenia is the AWGS2. These differences may be due to the use of different tools and cut-off points. Therefore, a universal diagnostic criterion should be developed to allow early diagnosis of sarcopenia.

Causal Roles of Lifestyle, Psychosocial Characteristics, and Sleep Status in Sarcopenia: A Mendelian Randomization Study

BACKGROUND

Many studies reported that lifestyle, psychosocial characteristics, and sleep status related to sarcopenia, although few studies provided evidence of causal relationships between them.

METHODS

The data used in our study were from UK Biobank, FinnGen Release 8, and large genome-wide association study meta-analyses. Two-sample Mendelian randomization was conducted to identify the causal associations of 21 traits of lifestyle, psychosocial characteristics, and sleep status with 6 traits of sarcopenia. Benjamini-Hochberg correction was performed to reduce the bias caused by multiple tests. Risk factor analyses were performed to explore the potential mechanism behind the exposures.

RESULTS

Mendelian randomization analyses after adjustment proved the causal roles of coffee intake, education years, smoking, leisure screen time, and moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity during leisure time in sarcopenia was proven although providing no significant evidence for causal roles for carbohydrates intake, protein intake, alcohol, and sleep status in sarcopenia.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results strongly support that coffee intake, education years, smoking, leisure screen time, and moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity during leisure time played significantly causal roles in sarcopenia, which may provide new intervention strategies for preventing the development of sarcopenia.