Comparação dos critérios diagnósticos da sarcopenia por diferentes consensos em mulheres residentes em comunidade: um estudo transversal

Abstract

Introduction: Women tend to be more vulnerable than men to aging due to social, biological and hormonal factors, favoring the onset of sarcopenia (muscle mass reduction with advancing age and may be associated to impairment in function and strength). The International Working Group on Sarcopenia (IWGS), the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) and the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) are the main consensuses regarding the identification of sarcopenia around the world; which has developed different diagnostic criteria for the sarcopenia. However, there is still no worldwide consensus for sarcopenia. Objective: To compare the diagnostic criteria of sarcopenia by different consensuses in women living in community. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional analytical study composed of 294 women between 50 to 80 years old, divided into two groups (50 to 59 and 60 to 80). Socio-demographic and socioeconomic data, regular physical exercise and anthropometric measurements were collected. Skeletal muscle mass (through the bioimpedance analysis technique), handgrip strength and walking speed were evaluated. Following the standardization established in the consensuses, cutoff values were generated for muscle mass, walking speed and handgrip strength, by means of the 20 th percentile of each group and the total of the sample. From these cutoff values, prevalence of sarcopenia were found using the diagnostic criteria of the three protocols. Results: The cutoff values found for muscle mass, walking speed and handgrip strength for group 1 (50-59 years) were 6.02 kg/m², 0.46, 0.82 m/s and 21.33 kgf, respectively, and for group 2 (60- 80 years) were 5.51 kg/m², 0.43, 0.69 m/s and 20.33 kgf, respectively. The lowest prevalence of sarcopenia was 3.60%, observed by the IWGS diagnostic criteria, in the age range of 50 to 59 years. The highest prevalence of sarcopenia was 8.60%, observed by the diagnostic criteria of the EWGSOP, in the age range of 60 to 80 years. Conclusion: This study clearly demonstrated that the prevalence of sarcopenia can vary widely by following consensus with different definitions, diagnostic criteria and cutoff points. It was also possible to conclude that there is a need to standardize the diagnostic criteria for sarcopenia in all the countries of the world. However, in relation to cutoff points, it is important that each population, with its particularities, have its specifics as reference for sarcopenia.