Abstract
Background in 2010, the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) published a sarcopenia definition that aimed to foster advances in identifying and caring for people with sarcopenia. In early 2018, the Working Group met again (EWGSOP2) to update the original definition in order to reflect scientific and clinical evidence that has built over the last decade. This paper presents our updated findings. Objectives to increase consistency of research design, clinical diagnoses and ultimately, care for people with sarcopenia. Recommendations sarcopenia is a muscle disease (muscle failure) rooted in adverse muscle changes that accrue across a lifetime; sarcopenia is common among adults of older age but can also occur earlier in life. In this updated consensus paper on sarcopenia, EWGSOP2: (1) focuses on low muscle strength as a key characteristic of sarcopenia, uses detection of low muscle quantity and quality to confirm the sarcopenia diagnosis, and identifies poor physical performance as indicative of severe sarcopenia; (2) updates the clinical algorithm that can be used for sarcopenia case-finding, diagnosis and confirmation, and severity determination and (3) provides clear cut-off points for measurements of variables that identify and characterise sarcopenia. Conclusions EWGSOP2's updated recommendations aim to increase awareness of sarcopenia and its risk. With these new recommendations, EWGSOP2 calls for healthcare professionals who treat patients at risk for sarcopenia to take actions that will promote early detection and treatment. We also encourage more research in the field of sarcopenia in order to prevent or delay adverse health outcomes that incur a heavy burden for patients and healthcare systems.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 16-31 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Age and Ageing |
Volume | 48 |
Issue number | 1 |
Early online date | 24 Sept 2018 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jan 2019 |
Funding
1Servicio de Geriatría, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal (IRYCIS), Madrid, Spain 2Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Geriatrics, Istanbul Medical School, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey 3Center for Geriatric Medicine, University Heidelberg, Agaplesion Bethanien Krankenhaus, Heidelberg, Germany 4Research Department, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Clermont-Ferrand, Clermont-Ferrand, France 5Department of Public Health, Epidemiology and Health Economics, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium 6Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism, Uppsala University, Uppsala, and Theme Ageing, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden 7MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton; Southampton, UK; and Department of Epidemiology, University of Oxford, OX, UK 8Instituto di Medicina Interna e Geriatria, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Roma, Italy 9Department of Geriatrics, Hospital and University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France 10NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK 11Department of Gastroenterology and Clinical Nutrition, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice, Université Côte d’Azur, Nice, France 12Department of Internal Medicine-Geriatrics, Institute for Biomedicine and Ageing, Friedrich-Alexander-University, Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany 13Department of Geriatrics, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and General Faculty Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic 14Department Geriatrics, University of Antwerp, Ziekenhuisnetwerk Antwerpen (ZNA), Antwerp, Belgium 15Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; and the Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute; Amsterdam, The Netherlands 16Department of Medicine, Geriatric section, University of Verona, Verona, Italy Address correspondence to: Alfonso J. Cruz-Jentoft, MD, Servicio de Geriatría, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Ctra. Colmenar, km 9.1, 28034 Madrid, Spain. Tel: +34 913368172; Fax: +34 913368172. Email: [email protected] All EWGSOP2 members participated in manuscript content review throughout the process, and all were polled for consensus agreement on the final content. Once completed, the manuscript was reviewed and endorsed by scientific societies: EuGMS, the European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases (ESCEO), the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN), International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics European Region (IAGG-ER) and the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF).
Funders | Funder number |
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Fresenius Kabi and Abbott | |
Medical Research Council | MC_U147585819, MC_UP_A620_1014, MC_UU_12011/2, G0400491, MC_UP_A620_1015, MC_UU_12011/1, G0601019 |
European Geriatric Medicine Society |
Keywords
- EWGSOP2
- muscle assessment
- muscle strength
- older people
- physical performance
- sarcopenia