Sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity among community-dwelling Peruvian adults: A cross-sectional study

Sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity (SO) have emerged as significant contributors to negative health outcomes in the past decade. However, there remains a lack of consensus on the criteria and cut-off thresholds for assessing sarcopenia and SO. Moreover, limited data are available on the prevalence of these conditions in Latin American countries. To address this evidence gap, we aimed to estimate the prevalence of probable sarcopenia, sarcopenia, and SO in a community-dwelling population of 1151 adults aged ≥ 55 years in Lima, Peru.

Data collection for this cross-sectional study was conducted between 2018 and 2020 in two urban low-resource settings in Lima, Peru. Sarcopenia was defined as the presence of low muscle strength (LMS) and low muscle mass (LMM) according to European (EWGSOP2), US (FNIH) and Asian (AWGS) guidelines. We measured muscle strength by maximum handgrip strength; muscle mass using a whole-body single-frequency bioelectrical impedance analyzer, and physical performance using the Short Physical Performance Battery and 4-meter gait speed. SO was defined as a body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m² and sarcopenia.

The study participants had a mean age of 66.2 years (SD 7.1), of which 621 (53.9%) were men, and 41.7% were classified as obese (BMI ≥ 30.0 kg/m²). The prevalence of probable sarcopenia was estimated to be 22.7% (95%CI: 20.3-25.1) using the EWGSOP2 criteria and 27.8% (95%CI:25.2-30.4) using the AWGS criteria. Sarcopenia prevalence, assessed using skeletal muscle index (SMI), was 5.7% (95%CI: 4.4-7.1) according to EWGSOP2 and 8.3% (95%CI: 6.7-9.9) using AWGS criteria. The prevalence of sarcopenia based on the FNIH criteria was 18.1% (95%CI: 15.8-20.3). The prevalence of SO, considering different sarcopenia definitions, ranged from 0.8% (95%CI: 0.3-1.3) to 5.0% (95%CI: 3.8-6.3).

Our findings reveal substantial variation in the prevalence of sarcopenia and SO when using different guidelines, underscoring the necessity for context-specific cut-off values. Nevertheless, regardless of the chosen guideline, the prevalence of probable sarcopenia and sarcopenia among community-dwelling older adults in Peru remains noteworthy.