Influence of sarcopenia on the development of physical disability: the Cardiovascular Health Study.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the temporal relationship between sarcopenia and disability in elderly men and women.


METHODS
Cardiovascular Health Study, a longitudinal study of cardiovascular disease and its risk factors in older people.


METHODS
Four U.S. communities.


METHODS
Five thousand thirty-six men and women aged 65 and older.


METHODS
Whole-body skeletal muscle mass was measured at baseline, and subjects were classified as having normal muscle mass, moderate sarcopenia, or severe sarcopenia based on previously established thresholds. Disability was measured via questionnaire at baseline in up to eight annual follow-up examinations. The cross-sectional relationship between sarcopenia and prevalent disability at baseline was examined using logistic regression models. The longitudinal relation between sarcopenia and incident disability over 8 years of follow-up was examined using Cox proportional hazards models.


RESULTS
At baseline, the likelihood of disability was 79% greater in those with severe sarcopenia (P<.001) but was not significantly greater in those with moderate sarcopenia (P=.38) than in those with normal muscle mass. During the 8-year follow-up, the risk of developing disability was 27% greater in those with severe sarcopenia (P=.006) but was not statistically greater in those with moderate sarcopenia (P=.23) than in those with normal muscle mass.


CONCLUSIONS
Severe sarcopenia was a modest independent risk factor for the development of physical disability. The effect of sarcopenia on disability was considerably smaller in the longitudinal analysis than in the cross-sectional analysis.
Janssen
Ian
I
School of Physical and Health Education and Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. janssen@post.queensu.ca
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D001823:Body Composition; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009133:Muscular Atrophy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors