Nutrición Hospitalaria
ISSN 1699-5198 ISSN 0212-1611
SANCHEZ-CASTELLANO, Carmen et al. Prevalence of sarcopenia and characteristics of sarcopenic subjects in patients over 80 years with hip fracture. []. , 36, 4, pp.813-818. 17--2020. ISSN 1699-5198. https://dx.doi.org/10.20960/nh.02607.
Aim:
to estimate the prevalence of sarcopenia in very old patients admitted to an Orthogeriatric Unit for the treatment of a hip fracture (HF), and to compare characteristics of patients with and without sarcopenia.
Methods:
one hundred and fifty consecutive patients ≥ 80 years old admitted with HF were included. Sarcopenia was diagnosed with low muscle mass (bioimpedance, using two different cut-off points, Janssen and Masanés) and low grip strength (Jamar's dynamometer). Socio-demographic, nutritional variables (MNA-SF, body mass index [BMI], phase angle), cognitive (Pfeiffer, Reisberg's GDS) and functional variables (Barthel index, FAC) were registered, as well as the number of recent falls and medications on admission.
Results:
mean age: 87.6 ± 4.9 years (78.7% women). Prevalence of sarcopenia: 11.5% (Janssen's cut-offs) and 34.9% (Masanés cut-offs). Of the 77.5% who had independent ambulation before the fracture, 40% reported three or more recent falls. Before admission, 38% had dementia and 80.4% had mild to moderate dependence to BADL before admission; 14.2% were independent for all BADL. MNA was suggestive of malnutrition in 12.6%, and 85.2% were on four or more prescribed drugs. Sarcopenic (Masanés) had a lower BMI than non-sarcopenic participants (18.6 vs 24.3, p = 0.003), but no other significant differences were found between both groups. Phase angle was also unrelated to sarcopenia status.
Conclusions:
up to one third of very old patients with HF had sarcopenia on admission. Prevalence varied widely depending on the cut-off points selected to define low muscle mass. Sarcopenic patients in this setting were mostly similar to non-sarcopenic patients, except for a lower BMI.
: Sarcopenia; Hip fracture; Cognitive, functional and nutritional variables.