How to Find out About Sarcopenia in the Community

To Editor:

How can we diagnose sarcopenia in a patient without instruments and advanced equipment? 1. The SARC-F questionnaire is a 5-question self-administered questionnaire covering strength, walking, standing up, climbing stairs, and fall history. A total score of ≥4 points is considered high risk for sarcopenia and is the most commonly used community screening tool [1,2]. 2. Calf circumference measurement only requires a soft measuring tape. Measuring the circumference at the widest point of the calf is a simple anthropometric indicator with the highest correlation to muscle mass. A calf circumference <34 cm for men and <33 cm for women is generally considered abnormal (the cut-off point may vary slightly depending on ethnicity) [3].

3.The five-sit-up test requires only an armless chair and a stopwatch (or mobile phone timing) to measure the time required to go from sitting to standing up five times, reflecting the lower limb muscle strength and functional performance [4]. 4. Gait speed observation only requires a fixed distance (usually 6 meters) and a stopwatch to measure normal walking speed. It is one of the key functional indicators for assessing severity in AWGS [5]. 5. Clinical visual inspection and palpation involve physicians or nurses directly observing the appearance of the muscles in the limbs, the temporalis muscle depression, and the boundary between subcutaneous fat and muscle. These methods are used for preliminary judgment but are highly subjective.

References

1. Malmstrom TK, Morley JE (2013) SARC-F: a simple questionnaire to rapidly diagnose sarcopenia. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. 14:531-532.   
2. Malmstrom TK, Miller DK, Simonsick EM, Ferrucci L, Morley JE (2016) SARC‐F: a symptom score to predict persons with sarcopenia at risk for poor functional outcomes. Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle. 7:28-36.
3. Piodena-Aportadera MRB, Lau S, Chew J, Lim JP, Ismail JH, et al. (2022) Calf circumference measurement protocols for sarcopenia screening: differences in agreement, convergent validity and diagnostic performance. Annals of geriatric medicine and research. 26:215224.
4. Lein Jr DH, Alotaibi M, Almutairi M, Singh H (2022) Normative reference values and validity for the 30-second chair-stand test in healthy young adults. International journal of sports physical therapy.17:907-914.
5. Sánchez-Sánchez JL, He L, Morales JS, de Souto Barreto P, JiménezPavón D, et al. (2024) Association of physical behaviours with sarcopenia in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. The Lancet Healthy Longevity. 5:e108-e119.