The Kihon Checklist is a useful screening tool for predicting sarcopenia:A retrospective cross-sectional pilot study.

BACKGROUND

Early detection of sarcopenia is critical in countries with rapidly aging populations. In this study, we investigated the diagnostic accuracy of Kihon Checklist (KCL) in screening sarcopenia among older adults.

METHODS

This retrospective, cross-sectional study included 442 community-dwelling. A baseline questionnaire and KCL were administered to the participants, and their physical function and body composition were measured. Sarcopenia was defined according to Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 2019 guidelines. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to examine the diagnostic accuracy of KCL for sarcopenia. In addition, a novel approach using KCL along with patient age was considered.

RESULTS

Among the subjects (72.1% women;average age, 76.7 years), 34 (7.6%) had sarcopenia. The ROC-based diagnostic accuracy for sarcopenia was as follows:Area under the ROC curve (AUC) = 0.805 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.735-0.874) for KCL, 0.865 (95% CI = 0.811-0.920) for KCL 5 items model, 0.892 (95% CI = 0.851-0.934) for KCL plus age, and 0.922 (95% CI = 0.886-0.957) for KCL 5 items model plus age.

CONCLUSION

KCL showed good diagnostic accuracy as a screening tool for predicting sarcopenia, suggesting utility in population-based approaches for sarcopenia detection. J. Med. Invest. 72 : 272-280, August, 2025.