Prevalence of sarcopenia in community-dwelling Japanese older adults

Sarcopenia, the age-dependent loss of skeletal muscle mass, is highly prevalent among older adults in many countries; however, the prevalence of sarcopenia in healthy Japanese community-dwelling older adults is not well characterized.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of sarcopenia and to examine the association of sarcopenia with falls and fear of falling in community-dwelling Japanese older adults.

This is a cross-sectional study.

Healthy men (568) and women (1314) aged 65 to 89 years participated in this research.

For all participants, 3 measurements were taken: skeletal muscle mass measurement using bioelectrical impedance, 10 m at a usual walking speed, and handgrip strength. Sarcopenia was defined as the presence of both poor muscle function (low physical performance or low muscle strength) and low muscle mass.

The prevalence of sarcopenia, determined using the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People-suggested algorithm, in men and women aged 65 to 89 years was 21.8% and 22.1%, respectively. The prevalence of sarcopenia increased age-dependently, especially in those older than 75 years in both genders. In the young old, the prevalence of sarcopenia was higher in women than in men; however, in those older than 85 years, the prevalence of sarcopenia was lower in women than in men (P < .05). In addition, fall incidents and fear of falling were more prevalent in sarcopenic older adults than in nonsarcopenic older adults (P < .05).

These results suggest that sarcopenia is highly prevalent in community-dwelling Japanese older adults and is related to falls and fear of falling.