Research Abstract: Free Paper - Oral Presentation Australian and New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine Annual Scientific Meeting 2023

Predicting slow walking speed from a pooled cohort analysis: sarcopenia definitions, agreement and prevalence in Australia and New Zealand (#7)

Jesse Zanker 1 2 , David Scott 3 4 , Cassandra Szoeke 5 , Sara Vogrin 1 2 , Sheena Patel 6 , Terri Blackwell 6 , Ben Kirk 1 2 , Stefanie Bird 1 2 3 , Jacqueline Center 7 8 , Dima A Alajlouni 7 8 , Tiffany Gill 9 , Graeme Jones 10 , Julie A Pasco 1 11 , Debra Waters 12 13 , Peggy M Cawthon 14 15 , Gustavo Duque 1 2 16
  1. Department of Medicine, Western Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  2. Australian Institute for Musculoskeletal Science, AIMSS, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  3. Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia
  4. Department of Medicine, School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, Monash University , Clayton, Victoria , Australia
  5. Department of Medicine - Melbourne Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
  6. Research Institute, California Pacific Medical Center, San Fransisco, California, USA
  7. Skeletal diseases program, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  8. Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  9. Adelaide Medical School, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
  10. Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
  11. IMPACT-Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, Barwon Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
  12. Department of Medicine, School of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Otage, Dunedin, South Island, New Zealand
  13. Department of Internal Medicine/Geriatrics, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
  14. Research Institute, California Pacific Medical Center, San Fransisco, Victoria, Australia
  15. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, San Fransisco, California, USA
  16. Department of Medicine, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Aims

Recent definitions of sarcopenia have not been replicated and compared in Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) populations. We aimed to identify sarcopenia measures that discriminate ANZ adults with slow walking speed (<0.8 m/s), and determine agreement between the Sarcopenia Definitions and Outcomes Consortium (SDOC) and revised European Working Group for Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP2) operational definitions of sarcopenia.

 

Methods

Eight studies comprising 8,100 ANZ community-dwelling adults (mean age±standard deviation 62.0+14.4 years) with walking speed, grip strength (GR) and lean mass data were combined. Replicating the SDOC methodology, fifteen candidate variables were included in sex-stratified classification and regression tree (CART) models and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves on a pooled sub-cohort to identify variables and cut-points discriminating slow walking speed (<0.8 m/s). Agreement and prevalence estimates were compared using Cohen’s Kappa (CK).

 

Results

ROC curves identified GR as the strongest variable for discriminating slow from normal walking speed in women (GR<20.50 kg, area under curve [AUC]=0.68) and men (GR<31.05 kg, AUC=0.64). Near perfect agreement was found between the derived ANZ cut-points and SDOC cut-points (CK 0.8-1.0). Sarcopenia prevalence ranged from 1.5% (EWGSOP2) to 37.2% (SDOC) in women and 1.0% (EWGSOP2) to 9.1% (SDOC) in men, with no agreement (CK<0.2) between EWGSOP2 and SDOC. 


Conclusions

GR is the primary discriminating characteristic for slow walking speed in ANZ women and men, consistent with findings from the SDOC. SDOC and EWGSOP2 definitions showed no agreement suggesting these proposed definitions measure different characteristics and identify people with sarcopenia differently.