Evaluating the Discriminative Performance of SARC-F and SARC-CalF in Identifying Functional Impairment in Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: To estimate the prevalence of sarcopenia risk, examine the association between reduced functional performance and sarcopenia risk using the SARC-F questionnaire (Strength, Assistance with walking, Rise from a chair, Climb stairs, and Falls) and the SARC-CalF tool (SARC-F combined with calf circumference), and evaluate the discriminative ability of these instruments to identify reduced functional performance among community-dwelling older adults living in a small municipality in Northeastern Brazil.

METHODS

This cross-sectional observational study was conducted in Jacaraú, Paraíba, Brazil, and included 253 older adults. The discriminative ability of SARC-F and SARC-CalF to identify reduced functional performance was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. All analyses were conducted using R software, version 4.3.1.

RESULTS

The SARC-F demonstrated greater discriminative ability for identifying impairments in balance across the evaluated postures. Both the SARC-F and SARC-CalF showed comparable discriminative performance for reduced gait speed and lower-limb muscle strength. In contrast, the SARC-CalF showed superior discriminative ability for identifying low handgrip strength.

DISCUSSION: Both the SARC-F and SARC-CalF demonstrated acceptable discriminative ability for identifying functional impairment, with area under the curve (AUC) values ranging from 0.60 to 0.80 across the functional domains evaluated.