Sarcopenia prevalence and the quality of life in older adults: A study from Turkey’s east

Abstract

Aim: Sarcopenia as a geriatric syndrome decreases quality of life and increases functional dependency, hospitalization and mortality. The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of sarcopenia among community-dwelling people aged 65 years and older in Muş province and to examine its effects on quality of life. Materials and Methods: In this study we have interviewed 371 community-dwelling older adults. A total of 186 older adults from the rural area and 185 older adults from Muş city center were enrolled in the study. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews conducted in the participants’ homes by trained researchers. The presence of sarcopenia, socio-demographic characteristics (place of residence, gender, age), presence of chronic diseases, polypharmacy, body mass index, and quality of life with Short Form-36 were determined. Muscle mass, handgrip strength and gait speed were determined for defining sarcopenia. Results: The mean age of participants was 72.3 ± 6.8 years (65-100) and 46.1% of them were females. The prevalence of sarcopenia was 11.8% among older people residing in the rural area whereas the prevalence was 21.6% among older individuals living in the city center (p = 0.012). Sarcopenic patients were older, more underweight, hypertensive, and had lower calf circumference, gait speed, and grip strength in males than non-sarcopenic patients (p <0.0001, p <0.0001, p = 0.005, p <0.0001, p = 0.001, p <0.0001, respectively). There were important distinction between sarcopenic individuals and non-sarcopenic individuals in terms of physical function, physical role weakness and emotional role weakness (p = 0.021, p = 0.006 and p = 0.009, respectively). Conclusion: Sarcopenia is very common among older adults, especially in the city center, and the presence of sarcopenia has detrimental effects on the quality of life.