Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 4, 2025
13:35
Segmentation and Linear Measurement for Body Composition Analysis using Slice-O-Matic and Horos
Published on: March 21, 2021
10.8K
Calf circumference refines sarcopenia in correlating with mortality risk.
Shou-En Wu1,2, Wei-Liang Chen1,2,3
1Division of Family Medicine, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Tri-Service General Hospital and School of Medicine, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan 11490, Republic of China.
Age and Ageing
|February 8, 2022
Summary
Adding calf circumference (CC) to sarcopenia definitions significantly increases mortality prediction accuracy. This simple measurement shows potential as a valuable screening tool for sarcopenia, improving diagnostics when combined with other parameters.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Clinical Diagnostics
- Public Health
Background:
- Current guidelines offer conflicting recommendations on using calf circumference (CC) for sarcopenia diagnosis.
- This study investigated the impact of incorporating CC into conventional sarcopenia models to assess mortality prediction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the predictive capacity of sarcopenia models augmented with CC.
- To determine the correlation between CC and mortality risk.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from 2,532 participants (aged 50-85) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2002).
- Defined sarcopenia using four components: low CC (C), low muscle strength (S), low muscle mass (M), and low gait speed (G).
- Employed Cox proportional hazard models and receiver-operator characteristic curves to compare CC-added definitions against conventional ones for all-cause, cardiovascular (CV), and cancer mortality.
Main Results:
- CC-added models demonstrated substantially higher hazard ratios (HR) for all-cause and CV mortality compared to conventional definitions (e.g., C+S+M+G HR=15.062 vs. S+M+G HR=6.433 for all-cause mortality).
- Models including CC showed improved accuracy in predicting mortality, with higher areas under the curve (AUC) compared to conventional definitions (e.g., C+S+G+M AUC=0.702 vs. S+G+M AUC=0.697).
- A significant correlation was observed between CC and the conventional components of sarcopenia (muscle strength, mass, and gait speed).
Conclusions:
- Incorporating CC into sarcopenia definitions is associated with increased risks of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.
- Calf circumference presents a promising, simple screening tool for sarcopenia, potentially enhancing diagnostic accuracy when used alongside other established parameters.
