FNIH-defined Sarcopenia Predicts Adverse Outcomes among Community-Dwelling Older People in Taiwan: Results from I-Lan Longitudinal Aging Study

Ting Ching Tang, An Chun Hwang, Li Kuo Liu, Wei Ju Lee, Liang Yu Chen, Yi Hui Wu, Chung Yu Huang, Cheng Hao Hung, Chih Jen Wang, Ming Hsien Lin, Li Ning Peng, Liang Kung Chen*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

44 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background To evaluate the predictive validity of sarcopenia defined by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) Sarcopenia Project among Asian older adults. Methods Data of the I-Lan Longitudinal Aging Study were obtained for analysis. Overall, 1,839 community-dwelling people aged 50 years and older, capable of completing a 6-m walk, with life expectancy of more than 6 months, and not institutionalized at time of data collection were enrolled for study. Data for subjects aged 65 years and older were obtained for study. The outcome measures were all-cause mortality and a composite adverse outcome which includes hospitalizations, emergency department visits, institutionalization, and falls. Results Data of 728 eligible elderly participants (73.4 ± 5.4 years; 52.9% males) were analyzed. The prevalence of FNIH-diagnosed sarcopenia was 9.5%: 11.9% males; 6.7% females. Participants having FNIH-defined sarcopenia were considerably older, frailer, more obese, with poorer physical performance than nonsarcopenic subjects (All p <.001); during mean follow-up of 32.9 ± 8.8 months, they also had 3.8 times higher risk of dying, independent of age, sex, multimorbidity, cognitive function, and nutritional status (hazard ratio = 3.8; 95% confidence interval = 1.26-11.45; p =.018). Moreover, sarcopenia defined by grip strength-BMI ratio (Weak BMI) showed stronger association with composite adverse outcomes than traditional handgrip strength (hazard ratio = 1.99; 95% confidence interval = 1.01-3.93; p =.047 vs hazard ratio = 1.80; 95% confidence interval = 0.89-3.62; p =.102 in fully-adjusted model). Conclusion Among community-dwelling older people in Taiwan, participants with FNIH-defined sarcopenia had a significantly greater risk of all-cause mortality and composite falls, emergency department visits, institutionalization, and hospitalization.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)828-834
Number of pages7
JournalJournals of Gerontology - Series A Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences
Volume73
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 9 May 2018

Keywords

  • Aging
  • All-cause mortality
  • Sarcopenia
  • The foundation for the National Institute of Health Biomarkers Consortium Sarcopenia Project

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