Association of SARC-F with muscle mass, strength, and quality derived from bioelectrical impedance spectroscopy for sarcopenia assessment.

Tsukasa Yoshida, Yuki Nishida, Emi Kondo, Miwa Yamaguchi, Aya Itoi, Hiroyuki Shirato, Hirohiko Hirano, Satoshi Sasaki, Minoru Yamada, Shigeho Tanaka, Misaka Kimura, Fuminori Katsukawa, Yosuke Yamada

National Institute of Health and Nutrition, National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition, Tokyo, Japan. · pubmed

Paper

Abstract

The SARC-F is a 5-item questionnaire screening for patients at risk of sarcopenia. The electrical properties of tissues derived from bioelectrical impedance spectroscopy (BIS), including phase angle (PhA) and intracellular-extracellular water ratio (ICW/ECW) indices, are biomarkers of age-related loss of skeletal muscle quantity and quality. The purpose of the current study was to examine the association between SARC-F and muscle mass, strength, muscle-specific strength, and muscle quality as assessed by BIS and hand grip strength (HGS). Sarcopenia risk was assessed using the SARC-F questionnaire. BIS was used to obtain skeletal muscle mass (SMM) and skeletal muscle mass index (SMI), PhA, ICW/ECW index, membrane capacitance (Cm) and characteristic frequency (fc) for assessing muscle quantity and quality. HGS was evaluated, and muscle-specific strength (HGS/SMM) was calculated. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to examine the associations between SARC-F scores and each muscle parameter. A total of 205 older adults aged 65-99 years were included in the current cross-sectional analysis. Of those, 142 were community-dwelling healthy older adults (110 women and32 men) and 63 were the older adults living in special nursing homes for the older adults (45 women and 18 men). SARC-F was significantly correlated with SMM, SMI, HGS, and HGS/SMM in both men and women (p < 0.05). SARC-F was also correlated with PhA, ICW/ECW index, Cm, and fc in both men and women (p < 0.001). The SARC-F score was associated with SMM, HGS, HGS/SMM, PhA, ICW/ECW index, Cm, and fc independently of age, sex, height, and BMI. SARC-F is a subjective yet simple assessment tool for muscle mass, strength, and quality relevant to sarcopenia.

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Research summary

The paper claims that the SARC-F questionnaire is significantly correlated with various measures of muscle mass, strength, and quality in older adults. This research is relevant as it addresses sarcopenia, a condition associated with aging that impacts longevity and quality of life, although it primarily focuses on assessment rather than intervention.

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