ABSTRACT
Alternative cut-off points for the calculation of appendicular muscle mass (AMM) in older Brazilians were established to classify sarcopenia. Data from 562 older adults from Belo Horizonte who participated in the Fibra study (Fragilidade em Idosos Brasileiros [Fragility in Older Brazilians) were analyzed. Through Lee’s equation, cut-off points for AMM were determined based on the 20th percentile of their distribution in the studied population. Then, the subjects were classified for sarcopenia according to the criteria of the European Consensus on Definition and Diagnosis of Sarcopenia in Older Adults, and its possible associations with functional capacity and comorbidities were evaluated. Most of the sample was composed by women (65.5%) with 74.1 years of age (±6.4) and 1.5 (±1.4) comorbidities on average. The cut-off points for AMM were <6.47kg/m2 for women and <8.76kg/m2 for men. The prevalence of sarcopenia was 14.9%, 13.5% of the population being partially dependent for basic activities of daily living (BADL), 30.6% for instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) and 66.7% for advanced activities of daily living (AADL). Sarcopenia was correlated with IADL only (r=0.081, p=0.05), and a negative correlation was found between sarcopenia and comorbidities (r=−0.103, p=0.014). Cut-off points specific to AAM for the population of older Brazilians were proposed, and no correlations between the variables of the study were found, except for IADL and comorbidities.
Keywords:
Sarcopenia; Older Adults; Muscles; Reference Values