A new easily accessible and practical method for dynapenia screening: blink rate

Area of Science:

• Geriatric Medicine
• Neurology
• Physiology

Background:

• Current sarcopenia and dynapenia screening methods lack widespread accessibility.
• There is a critical need for practical, accessible tests for initial dynapenia screening.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the potential of blink rate as an alternative screening method for dynapenia.
• Investigate the correlation between blink rate and indicators of muscle strength.

Main Methods:

• A prospective cross-sectional study included 355 geriatric outpatients (71.5% female, 28.5% male).
• Blink rate was measured and correlated with grip strength and SARC-F scores.

Main Results:

• Blink rate showed a positive correlation with grip strength and a negative correlation with SARC-F.
• Blink rate was independently associated with dynapenia.
• An optimal blink rate cut-off of ≤ 40.5 (15s) predicted dynapenia with 70.3% sensitivity and 43.3% specificity.

Conclusions:

• Blink rate is related to dynapenia and grip strength.
• Blink rate offers a viable alternative for dynapenia detection, particularly for patients with limited mobility or unavailable grip strength measurement tools.