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A new easily accessible and practical method for dynapenia screening: blink rate

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Abstract

Background

The methods used in the diagnosis and screening of sarcopenia are not available everywhere. There is a need for more practical tests that can be used especially in the first step.

Aims

We aimed to investigate the usability of blink rate as an alternative test for dynapenia screening.

Methods

A total of 355 patients ≥ 65 years of age (254 (71.50%) female and 101 (28.50%) male) who were admitted to geriatric outpatient clinic were included in this prospective cross-sectional study.

Results

Blink rate was positively correlated with grip strength and negatively correlated with SARC-F. Also, it was found that the blink rate was associated with dynapenia independent of other factors. The optimal cut-off value of 15 s blink rate to predict dynapenia was measured as ≤ 40.5, with 70.3% sensitivity and 43.3% specificity.

Conclusion

Our study indicated the relationship between blink rate with dynapenia and grip strength. Especially in patients with limited mobilization and where it is not possible to reach the hand dynamometer to measure grip strength, the blink rate can be used as an alternative test to detect dynapenia.

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This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Medicine, Ibn-i Sina Hospital, Ankara University, Hacettepe mah, Talatpaşa blv. No:82 Altındağ, Ankara, Turkey

    Remzi Bahşi, Volkan Atmiş, Cağlar Coşarderelioğlu, Deniz Mut Sürmeli, Ahmet Yalçin, Sevgi Aras & Murat Varli

  2. Ankara City Hospital, Ankara, Turkey

    Hande Selvi Öztorun

  3. Antalya Education and Research Hospital, Antalya, Turkey

    Tuğba Turgut

Authors
  1. Remzi Bahşi
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  2. Volkan Atmiş
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  3. Cağlar Coşarderelioğlu
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  4. Hande Selvi Öztorun
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  5. Deniz Mut Sürmeli
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  6. Tuğba Turgut
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  7. Ahmet Yalçin
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  8. Sevgi Aras
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  9. Murat Varli
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Contributions

Study concept and design: Remzi Bahşi, Murat Varlı, Sevgi Aras

Acquisition of subjects and/or data: Remzi Bahşi, Volkan Atmış, Çağlar Coşarderelioğlu, Hande Selvi Öztorun, Deniz Mut Sürmeli, Tuğba Turgut

Analysis and interpretation of data: Remzi Bahşi, Ahmet Yalçın

Preparation of manuscript: Remzi Bahşi

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Remzi Bahşi.

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Ethics approval

This study was approved by the institutional ethical board of Ankara University and was conducted in compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Conflicts of interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest.

Consent for publication

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Bahşi, R., Atmiş, V., Coşarderelioğlu, C. et al. A new easily accessible and practical method for dynapenia screening: blink rate. Ir J Med Sci 190, 1619–1623 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-020-02454-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-020-02454-6

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