Sarcopenia and frailty among the elderly population in the community: An observational study

ABSTRACT There are few studies on the prevalence of sarcopenia and frailty in India. The aim of this study was to assess sarcopenia and frailty using simple clinical tools among the elderly population in the community. This was an observational study. The elderly population with an age group of >60 years residing in villages within 10–15 km of Sumandeep Vidyapeeth, Vadodara, formed the sampling frame of the study. A total of 785 participants were approached, of whom 556 were included in the study based on inclusion criteria. Participants were assessed for grip strength, muscle mass, gait speed, and frailty. The data were analyzed using STATA-IC statistical software version 13. A nonparametric Chi-square (χ2) test was used for categorical variables, and an independent-samples t-test was used to analyze the difference between various variables. Statistical significance was considered at P < 0.05 with a 95% confidence interval (CI). Based on the Indian criteria, 205 participants (36.1%) were diagnosed as having sarcopenia, and 351 participants (63%) were diagnosed as having “no sarcopenia.” 5.6% of participants were found to be frail, 19.2% to be pre-frailty, and 75.2% to be no frailty. The χ2 analysis showed a significant association of sarcopenia with gender and different age groups (P value < 0.001). In this study, 36.9% of the elderly participants were found to have “sarcopenia,” and 5.6% of the participants had frailty. Simple clinical tools used were easy to administer and suitable for field screening.