Analysis of the characteristics of sarcopenia in elderly patients of different age groups / 中华老年医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To compare clinical characteristics and results on parameters for muscle measurement in elderly sarcopenia patients of different age groups.Methods:This was a cross-sectional study, and 404 outpatients aged 60 years and over were enrolled and received a long-term follow-up.According to the World Health Organization classification of the elderly, the subjects were divided into a youngest-old group, a middle old group and an oldest-old group; and according to the diagnostic criteria of the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia in 2019, elderly people of all ages were divided into a sarcopenia group and a non-sarcopenia group.General clinical data were recorded, and the upper arm circumference, leg circumference, skeletal muscle index, grip strength and walking speed, the Short Physical Performance Battery and timed up and go were conducted.At the same time, the body composition was measured by multifrequency bioelectrical impedance analysis.Results:The subjects had a mean age of(85.24 ± 8.23)years, including 90(22.28%)youngest-old, 165(40.84%)middle old and 149(36.88%)oldest-old.123 patients(30.45%)were diagnosed with sarcopenia, with a prevalence of 27.78%(25)in the youngest-old group, 28.48%(47)in the middle old group and 34.23%(51)in the oldest-old group.Compared with those without sarcopenia, the basal metabolic rate in sarcopenia patients of all age groups decreased significantly, the levels of hemoglobin and albumin in youngest-oldsarcopenia patients decreased, the waist circumference and body mass index in middle old and oldest-old sarcopenia patients decreased, and the body fat rate in middle old sarcopenia patients increased.In the subjects with sarcopenia, the proportion of men in the oldest-old group was higher than in the other two groups.Compared with the youngest-old group, the levels of alanine aminotransferase and prealbumin decreased, serum creatinine increased, and skeletal muscle index values did not change in the middle old and longest-old groups, but handgrip strength(27.7±5.9 vs.23.2±6.9 vs.21.4±5.8, F=5.81, P=0.004), gait speed(0.8±0.2 vs.0.7±0.2 vs.0.5±0.2, F=11.88, P=0.000)and calf circumference(33.4±3.3 vs.15.9± 8.4 vs.31.5±3.1 vs.30.9±3.3, F=3.58, P=0.031)significantly decreased, and time up and go values(10.0±2.1 vs.15.9±8.4 vs.20.8±12.8, F=6.98, P=0.001)increased in the middle old and longest-old groups.Partial correlation analysis showed that age had a significant negative correlation with handgrip( r=-0.374, P=0.001), daily gait speed( r=-0.441, P=0.000), and calf circumference( r=-0.223, P=0.017), but a significant positive correlation with timed up and go( r=0.319, P=0.009). Conclusions:Compared with youngest-old sarcopenia patients, middle old patients show significant decline in muscle function, muscle strength and muscle mass in the lower limb.With increasing age, the impact of changes in muscle function, muscle strength and regional muscle mass on adverse events should receive heightened attention.