SarQoL Questionnaire in Community-Dwelling Older Adults under EWGSOP2 Sarcopenia Diagnosis Algorithm: A New Screening Method?

Abstract

This article is an observational and cross-sectional study that related the result obtained in the questionnaire for the evaluation of quality of life related to muscle mass (SarQoL) and the prevalence of sarcopenic pathology measured under the EWGSOP2 algorithm. Participants were 202 community-dwelling older adults living in Valencia, Spain. The prevalence of sarcopenia in men was 28.9%, while in women it was 26.2%. In the case of the SarQoL questionnaire, the mean score obtained for men was 75.5 and 72.6 for women, showing significant differences in both sexes between the results obtained by the group with and without sarcopenia. After the exhaustive data analysis, a high discriminative capacity for sarcopenic disease was found in the SarQoL questionnaire total score and in domains 2 (locomotion), 4 (functionality) and 5 (activities of daily living). In accordance with the existing controversy regarding the use of SARC-F as a screening method for sarcopenia, the authors pointed out the capacity of domain 2 (locomotion) in isolation as a possible screening method for this disease, exposing a high risk of suffering sarcopenia when scores in this domain were below 60 points. Further research is needed to develop new lines of research as these showed in this work, as well as new and easily applicable screening methods for sarcopenia in clinical practice, that allow a rapid detection of this disease in the community.