Discriminating sarcopenia in community-dwelling older women with high frequency of overweight/obesity: the São Paulo Ageing & Health Study (SPAH)

Summary The criteria most used for the definition of sarcopenia, those based on the ratio between the appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) and the square of the height (h 2 ) underestimate prevalence in overweight/obese people whereas another criteria consider ASM adjusted for total fat mass. We have shown that ASM adjusted for fat seems to be more appropriate for sarcopenia diagnosis. Introduction Since the prevalence of overweight and obesity is a growing public health issue, the aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and risk factors associated with sarcopenia, based on these two criteria, among older women. Methods Six hundred eleven community-dwelling women were evaluated by specific questionnaire including clinical data. Body composition and bone mineral density were evaluated by dual X-ray absorptiometry. Logistic regression models were used to identify factors independently related to sarcopenia by ASM/h 2 and ASM adjusted for total fat mass criteria. Results The prevalence of overweight/obesity was high (74.3 %). The frequency of sarcopenia was lower using the criteria of ASM/h 2 (3.7 %) than ASM adjusted for fat (19.9 %) ( P