Appropriateness of five measures proposed by EWGSOP for diagnosing sarcopenia in clinical practice among the elderly living at the senior centre in Blansko, Czech republic: a case study
Abstract
Objectives - To evaluate the possibilities of some recommended diagnostic tools on selected groups of the elderly. Design and Methods - 79 elderly people (average age 81.8) participated in a study aimed at verifying the possibilities of using diagnostic methods of sarcopenia proposed by the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP).
We measured body composition by bioimpedence analysis (BIA), physical performance with hand-grip dynamometry and the standing balance, sit-to-stand and walking speed items of the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB). For data analysis, we used the IRT statistical method.
Results - We demonstrated that these selected tests have a unidimensional character but they do not measure the level of fitness in the elderly. In addition, we found that the item "Chair Stand" is, according to our experience, too difficult in its current version and thus it underestimates the overall performance of the population in this age category.
Conclusions - Although the diagnostic tools suggested by EWGSOP are important tools for the senior population in general, we found some difficulties in their use in the sample of seniors who lived at the institution under study. Nevertheless, one possible limitation of our research was the sample size.