Ability of SARC-F to Find Probable Sarcopenia Cases in Older Adults

Abstract

Background/Objective In 2018 EWGSOP2 has suggested low muscle strength as the primary parameter of sarcopenia. The consensus has recommended SARC-F questionnaire as a screening test to find cases with low muscle strength which has been designated as probable sarcopenia. We aimed to study the ability of SARC-F to find probable sarcopenia cases in older patients. Design Retrospective, cross-sectional. Setting Istanbul University Istanbul Faculty of Medicine Participants A total of 456 older adults (71.1% female, mean age: 74.6 +/- 6.6 years) Measurements We diagnosed probable sarcopenia by EWGSOP 2 criteria, i.e., presence of low handgrip strength (HGS). SARC-F questionnaire was performed by all participants. We used a receiver operating characteristics curve to obtain SARC-F cut-off values to detect probable sarcopenia and calculated the area under the curve and 95% confidence interval (CI). Results We included 456 participants (71.1% female; mean age: 74.6 +/- 6.6 years). Probable sarcopenia was present in 58 (12.7%). SARC-F cut-off >= 2 presented the best balance between sensitivity and specificity (sensitivity: 64.9% vs specificity: 67.9%) to detect probable sarcopenia [the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) = 0.710; 95% Cl: 0.660-0.752, p= 1 had sensitivity 84.2% and specificity 40.5% and SARC-F >= 4 had high specificity 88.2% with 40.3% sensitivity. Conclusion SARC-F is a good screening tool for sarcopenia in practice. Our findings suggest SARC-F >= 1 cut-off point to be used as the probable sarcopenia screening tool regarding its high sensitivity. Consequently, SARC-F >= 4 cut-off is better to be used if one prefers to exclude probable sarcopenia.