title: Skeletal muscle mass adjusted by height correlated better with muscular functions than that adjusted by body weight in defining sarcopenia.
abstract: Sarcopenia, characterized by low muscle mass and function, results in frailty, comorbidities and mortality. However, its prevalence varies according to the different criteria used in its diagnosis. This cross-sectional study investigated the difference in the number of sarcopenia cases recorded by two different measurement methods of low muscle mass to determine which measurement was better. We recruited 878 (54.2% female) individuals aged over 65 years and obtained their body composition and functional parameters. Low muscle mass was defined as two standard deviations below either the mean height-adjusted (hSMI) or weight-adjusted (wSMI) muscle mass of a young reference group. The prevalence of sarcopenia was 6.7% vs. 0.4% (male/female) by hSMI, and 4.0% vs. 10.7% (male/female) by wSMI. The κ coefficients for these two criteria were 0.39 vs. 0.03 (male/female), and 0.17 in all subjects. Serum myostatin levels correlated positively with gait speed (r = 0.142, p = 0.007) after adjustment for gender. hSMI correlated with grip strength, cardiopulmonary endurance, leg endurance, gait speed, and flexibility. wSMI correlated with grip strength, leg endurance, gait speed, and flexibility. Since hSMI correlated more closely with grip strength and more muscular functions, we recommend hSMI in the diagnosis of low muscle mass.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital BeiHu Branch, Taipei.
authors.forename: Der-Sheng
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital BeiHu Branch, Taipei.
authors.forename: Ke-Vin
authors.initials: KV
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital BeiHu Branch, Taipei.
authors.forename: Chia-Ming
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Work, National Taiwan University Hospital BeiHu Branch, Taipei.
authors.forename: Yu-Hong
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei.
authors.forename: Tung-Wei
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Kao
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital BeiHu Branch, Taipei.|Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei.
authors.forename: Keh-Sung
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei.
authors.forename: Tyng-Grey
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei.|Research Center for Developmental Biology and Regenerative Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wei-Shiung
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001823:Body Composition; D001835:Body Weight; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009929:Organ Size; D010809:Physical Fitness; D015995:Prevalence; D055948:Sarcopenia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult