SARC-F and SARC-Calf Tools for Nurses to Screen Sarcopenia in Older Adults

Abstract

Abstract Purpose This study aimed to compare the validity of SARC-F and SARC-Calf screening tools for sarcopenia to be used by nurses in Greek older adults. Methods For the clinical validation of the Greek version of SARC-F, a cross-sectional study was conducted to assess sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV, respectively) of the SARC-F against 4 definitions of sarcopenia. The SARC-F questionnaire was combined with calf circumference. SARC-Calf was developed and assessed against the same definitions of sarcopenia. Results One hundred older adults, ≥ 65 years old, (median age 72.50 years old, standard deviation = 9), took part in the clinical validation of the Greek SARC-F and SARC-Calf. Based on the definition used for sarcopenia, sensitivity of SARC-F ranged from 27.0 to 50.0%, specificity from 82.2 to 85.7%, NPVs between 66.7 and 93.8%, and PPVs were always below 60.0%. The SARC-Calf demonstrated improved specificity (95.6 to 98.4%) but lower sensitivity (10.0 to 20.0%). Conclusions The Greek version of SARC-F appears to be a useful screening tool for nurses for precisely ruling out community-dwelling older adults without sarcopenia. Nurses could have an important role in the early detection of sarcopenia by implementing the SARC-F screening tool. Further research is needed to assess the SARC-Calf validity in more vulnerable populations.