Sarcopenia : prevalence and associated factors among community-dwelling and institutionalized older women in the south region of Brazil Sarcopenia : prevalência e fatores associados

Received on: Jan. 27th, 2021. Accepted on: May 06th, 2021. ABSTRACT Objective: To assess the prevalence of sarcopenia and associated factors among older women from the local community and older women living in Long-Term Care (LTC) institutions. Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted with 423 older women aged 60 or more, from the local community and older women aged 60 or more, living in LTC institutions. Sarcopenia was defined, according to the consensus of the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People 2 (EWGSOP2), including three criteria: low muscle strength (LMS) (<16kg); low muscle mass (LMM) (≤6.75kg/ m2) assessed by a skeletal muscle mass index, and low physical performance (LPP) (≤0,8m/s) assessed by gait speed test. Older women who only showed LMS were considered to have pre-sarcopenia, those with LMS associated with LMM were diagnosed with sarcopenia and those who met all three criteria, were diagnosed with severe sarcopenia. Results: Among the community-dwelling older women, the prevalence of sarcopenia was 2.0% (from 60 to 69), 8.6% (from 70 to 79) and 12.9% (80 or more) and among the ones living in LTC Institutions, 3.3% (from 60 to 69), 14.8% (from 70 to 79) and 34.2% (80 or more). After multivariate logistic regression, age and low body mass index (BMI) were associated with sarcopenia in both groups. Conclusion: The prevalence of sarcopenia is higher among LTC older women. However, this is not an independent factor. In addition, regardless of residence, low BMI and advanced age are predictive for sarcopenia.


Introduction
According to the World Health Organization   To assess the physical performance, a 4-meter GST was performed. On a flat, straight surface, a 4 meters distance was marked on the ground. The volunteer was asked to walk at her normal pace, even using walking aids, and it was timed by the researcher. A speed of ≤0.8m/s was considered a low physical performance 4,26 . For analytical purposes, the samples were subsequently divided in relation to the presence ("sarcopenia" or "severe sarcopenia") or not ("without sarcopenia" or "probable sarcopenia") 4 .
Consequently, the skeletal muscle index (SMI) was obtained, dividing the SMM by squared height. A cut-off point for low muscle mass was considered to be an SMI equal to or less than 6.75kg/m² 30 .

Statistical analysis
The quantitative variables are described The 95% confidence level and 5% significance coefficient were adopted (p≤0.05).    The prevalence of sarcopenia and associated factors according to residence are described in

Conclusion
In this sample of older women from Southern Brazil, a higher prevalence of sarcopenia was found in institutionalized older women, with higher age and lower weight, and the place of residence was not determinant for this condition, demonstrating that the disease is influenced by several factors. Considering that people`s aging is a fact and that sarcopenia is a cause of higher mortality in older people, public policies for early diagnosis, as well as prevention, should be adopted in multiple fields among this population.

Acknowledgements:
The authors thank all LTC institutions and community centers of older people involved for allowing the data collection.

Sources of funding:
This work was funded by the authors.

Conflict of interest:
The authors state that there are no conflicts of interest.

Ethical standards:
The study complies with the current laws of the country where it was conducted.