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Accuracy of SARC-F, SARC-CalF, and Ishii Test in Assessing Severe Sarcopenia in Older Adults in Nursing Homes

  • Original Research
  • Published:
The journal of nutrition, health & aging

Abstract

Objectives

We aimed to assess the comparative accuracy of using SARC-F, as well as the SARC-F in tandem with calf circumference (SARC-CalF) and Ishii test, to screen severe sarcopenia in older adults residing in nursing homes.

Method

In this cross-sectional study, the AWGS2019 criteria were used as diagnostic standards. We adopted an “exclusion” screening test, focusing on sensitivity and the negative predictive value (NPV) combined with AUC, to assess the accuracy of the screening tools.

Results

We studied 199 people aged 60 and older, of whom 67 (33.7%) had severe sarcopenia, including 40 males (41.2%) and 27 females (26.5%). Among all participants, the sensitivities and NPV of SARC-F, SARC-CalF, and Ishii test were 85.1%/0.88, 68.7%/0.82, and 89.6%/0.94, respectively. For males, the SARC-F, SARC-CalF, and Ishii test sensitivities and NPV were 77.5%/0.78, 47.5%/0.7, and 85%/0.88, respectively. Among females, the SARC-F, SARC-CalF, and Ishii test sensitivities and NPV were 74.1%/0.9, 81.5%/0.92, 96.3%/0.99, respectively. There were no statistical differences between the AUCs of SARC-F or SARC-CalF for all participants or for the male or female groups; however, in terms of the AUC, the Ishii test was superior compared with the other two screening methods.

Conclusion

The Ishii test is more suitable for screening severe sarcopenia in older adults in nursing homes compared to SARC-F and SARC-CalF, and 130 points are recommended as the cut-off value of the Ishii test for screening severe sarcopenia.

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Funding

Funding: 2020 Zigong City Key Technology Support Plan (Project No. 2020YLSF19)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Southwest Medical University Zigong Affiliated Hospital, Zigong, Sichuan Province, China

    L. Zhu, M. Li, Z. Li, X. Lin, L. Liu & Xiaoyan Chen

  2. Zigong Mental Health Center, Zigong, Sichuan Province, China

    L. Zhu, M. Li, Z. Li, X. Lin, L. Liu & Xiaoyan Chen

  3. Southwest Medical University, Zigong, China

    J. Li

Authors
  1. L. Zhu
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  2. J. Li
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  3. M. Li
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  4. Z. Li
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  5. X. Lin
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  6. L. Liu
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  7. Xiaoyan Chen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiaoyan Chen.

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Declaration of conflicting interest: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Ethical standards: The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and the Institutional Review Board of Zigong Medical Foundation approved the study design protocol (IRB number:20191001).

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Zhu, L., Li, J., Li, M. et al. Accuracy of SARC-F, SARC-CalF, and Ishii Test in Assessing Severe Sarcopenia in Older Adults in Nursing Homes. J Nutr Health Aging 26, 576–580 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-022-1798-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-022-1798-4

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