Concordance of different criteria for sarcopenia in community women of age

ABSTRACT The frequency and concordance between different sarcopenia criteria was assessed in community women of age. This is a cross-sectional study with 64 women of age, in which muscle mass was determined by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and skeletal muscle index calculation, muscle strength was determined with a handgrip strength dynamometer, functional capacity was determined with the tests Timed Up and Go (TUG) and Sit to Stand test (STS). This older population was classified in sarcopenic, pre-sarcopenic, moderate sarcopenic and severe sarcopenic by using different sarcopenia criteria. The data were analyzed with use of Chi-square test and Kappa statistics. The results obtained demonstrated that 37.5% of the women suffered of low muscle mass, 34.4% of muscle weakness, 3.1% of functional impairment to stand and walk and 25.9% to sit and raise from the chair. Considering only muscle mass, 37.5% of the sample was classified as sarcopenic (moderate or severe) and, considering the criteria of the European Working Groups on Sarcopenia in Older People, 15.6% obtained this classification when assessing functional capacity with TUG and 22.4% with STS. Concordance between sarcopenia definitions ranged from moderate to excellent (p