Prevalence of sarcopenia in healthy community-dwelling elderly in an urban area of Barcelona (Spain)

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of sarcopenia in a cohort of healthy community-dwelling elderly in an urban area in Barcelona (Spain) for native benchmarks and compare them with those published in other geographical areas. We prospectively evaluated a series of 200 healthy elderly in the community with preserved functional capacity and absence of cognitive impairment. We performed a comprehensive geriatric assessment and determined anthropometric data, muscle mass (MM) and the muscle mass index (MMI). Assessment of muscle mass was performed by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). The cut-off point for defining sarcopenia MMI was established as less than 2 SD of the mean of a reference group comprising 220 healthy volunteers (20-42 years) in the same area. Results were compared with studies undertaken in the USA, France and Taiwan. The cut-off points obtained were 8.31 Kg/m(2) for men and 6.68 Kg/m(2) for women, being similar to those observed in France and Taiwan but different from the USA. The prevalence of sarcopenia observed was 33% for elderly women and 10% for males. On comparison of the prevalence of sarcopenia in the four populations, we observed some differences, particularly in males. We have defined reference values for sarcopenia, determined by BIA, in our setting. We also observed a remarkable prevalence of sarcopenia in the healthy elderly community, especially in females, showing some differences from those in other geographical regions.