SARC-T a new physical test for sarcopenia assessment with development, validation and physiological evaluation

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Musculoskeletal Health
• Clinical Diagnostics

Background:

• Sarcopenia, a progressive age-related loss of muscle mass and strength, presents diagnostic challenges due to varying prevalence based on algorithms.
• Muscle power is a key predictor of functional limitations in older adults.
• Existing diagnostic methods for sarcopenia require evaluation for complementary tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the Sarcopenia Optoelectronic Chair-Rise Velocity Test (SARC-T) as an alternative for probable sarcopenia diagnosis and severity assessment.
• To evaluate the correlation of SARC-T performance with other validated sarcopenia assessment tools.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional analysis was performed on residents of elderly care centers.
• Physical tests from the EWGSOP2 2019 algorithm were administered.
• The SARC-T was used to measure chair-rise velocity, alongside physiological monitoring (HR, SBP, SpO2).

Main Results:

• The sarcopenia group exhibited significantly lower physical performance across all tested metrics compared to the non-sarcopenia group.
• The SARC-T demonstrated strong correlations with Handgrip (r=0.800), 5-STST (r=-0.719), and TUG (r=-0.523).
• A moderate correlation was observed between SARC-T and Gait Speed (r=-0.438) in the sarcopenia group.

Conclusions:

• The SARC-T is a safe, accurate, and low-impact tool.
• It serves as a valuable complementary method for assessing sarcopenia probability and severity.
• The test's strong correlation with established measures supports its clinical utility.