Summary
Definition
History and exam
Key diagnostic factors
- low hand grip strength
- difficulty rising from chair
- difficulty climbing stairs
- slow gait
- emaciation
- difficulty performing activities of daily living
Other diagnostic factors
- presence of comorbidities affecting muscle mass and/or function
Risk factors
- age ≥65 years
- low or high body mass index (BMI)
- sedentary lifestyle
- low protein intake
- falls
- smoking
Diagnostic tests
1st tests to order
- serum electrolytes
- blood glucose
- LFTs
- renal function tests
- thyroid function tests
- CBC
- serum vitamin D
- dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA)
- CT
- MRI
Tests to consider
- bioimpedance analysis (BIA)
Treatment algorithm
all patients
Contributors
Authors
Gustavo Duque, MD, PhD
Professor
Faculty of Medicine
McGill University
Quebec
Canada
Disclosures
GD serves as a member of the Advisory Boards of Abbott Australia and TSI Pharmaceuticals. He also belongs to the speakers' bureau for Amgen and Abbott Australia. These companies produce therapeutic compounds that have demonstrated an effect on sarcopenia
Guy Hajj-Boutros, PhD(c)
PhD candidate
Division of Experimental Medicine
McGill University
Quebec
Canada
Disclosures
GHB declares that he has no competing interests.
José A. Morais, MD
Professor
Faculty of Medicine
McGill University
Quebec
Canada
Disclosures
JAM has received fees from Sanofi for clinical expertise on Fluzone vaccine. He is a member of the Board of the Fonds de Recherche du Québec. He has performed contracted research for the Canadian Space Agency. JAM has also received operating grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Peer reviewers
Stephanie Anne Studenski, MD, MPH
Professor Emeritus
Department of Medicine
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh
PA
Disclosures
SAS declares that she has no competing interests.
Miles Witham, PhD
Professor of Trials for Older People and consultant geriatrician
NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre
Newcastle University
Newcastle
UK
Disclosures
MW declares that he has no competing interests.
Differentials
- Parkinson disease
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
- Myopathy
More DifferentialsGuidelines
- Sarcopenia: revised European consensus on definition and diagnosis
- International clinical practice guidelines for sarcopenia (ICFSR): screening, diagnosis and management
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