DETERMINING THE ROLE OF SARCOPENIA IN THE DECLINE OF INTRINSIC CAPACITY IN ELDERLY SUBJECTS

• Published in: Innovation in aging Vol. 1; no. suppl_1; p. 693
• Main Authors: McCloskey, E., Kanis, J., Reginster, J., Cooper, C., Rizzoli, R., Cruz Jentoft, A., Landi, F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: US Oxford University Press 01.07.2017
• Subjects: Abstracts
• ISSN: 2399-5300; 2399-5300
• DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igx004.2481

Sarcopenia is the progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass, quality, strength and functional decline associated with aging. Sarcopenia has been estimated to affect 11–50% of those older than 80 years and poses a huge socio-economic burden. The clinical significance of sarcopenia rests in the adverse outcomes, particularly falls, fractures, disability, hospitalisation, loss of independence and mortality that arise as a consequence. A consensus on the definition of sarcopenia in a global setting should be driven by determining its role in predicting such poor health outcomes, analogous to the approach used in the successful development of the FRAX fracture risk assessment tool. While the assessment of the risk of adverse outcomes might encompass all three measurable aspects of sarcopenia, a number of factors need to be considered, particularly the ease with which measures can be used in non-specialist or community-based settings.