The Impact of Different Diagnostic Criteria on the Prevalence of Sarcopenia in Healthy Elderly Participants and Geriatric Outpatients

<b><i>Background:</i></b> A consensus on the diagnostic criteria for sarcopenia, a common syndrome in the elderly, has not been reached yet. Prevalence rates vary between studies due to the use of different criteria encompassing different measures, correction factors and cutoff points. <b><i>Objective:</i></b> This study compared prevalence rates of sarcopenia using nine sets of diagnostic criteria applied in two different elderly populations. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> The study population encompassed 308 healthy elderly participants (152 males, 156 females; mean age 74 years) and 123 geriatric outpatients (54 males, 69 females; mean age 81 years). Diagnostic criteria included relative muscle mass, absolute muscle mass, muscle strength and physical performance. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Prevalence rates of sarcopenia varied between 0 and 15% in healthy elderly participants and between 2 and 34% in geriatric outpatients. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> This study clearly demonstrates the dependency of sarcopenia prevalence rates on the applied diagnostic criteria.