Department of Medicine, Graduate school, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
College of Medicine/East-West Medical Research Institute, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2018 Jan;19(1):40-45.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2017.07.006. Epub 2017 Aug 31.
The SARC-F is a simple sarcopenia screening tool comprising 5 assessment items: strength, assistance walking, rising from a chair, climbing stairs, and falls. The present study aimed to examine the validation of the Korean version of SARC-F for elderly individuals residing in communities.
From the first year baseline data of Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study, a total of 1222 elderly individuals (70 years and older) who met the study's selection criteria were included in the analysis.
The SARC-F was translated into the Korean language in a culturally responsive way. The total score was calculated by adding the scores on the 5 items. The participants were divided into 2 groups according to the total score (SARC-F <4 vs SARC-F ≥4), and its correlations with various factors including walking speed, hand grip, ability to perform everyday activities, and health-related quality of life, were examined by sex. In addition, the tool's validity was analyzed by comparing it with the European, international, and Asian sarcopenia working group diagnostic criteria for sarcopenia.
The prevalence of sarcopenia according to the SARC-F was 4.2% in among men and 15.3% in women. The sensitivity of the SARC-F was low compared with the European, international, and Asian criteria of sarcopenia [male (M): 11%-60%, female (F): 28%-34%]. However, SARC-F showed a high specificity (M: 96.6%-98%, F: 85%-87.7%) and a high negative predictive value (M: 89.2%-99.3%, F: 88.5%-98.4%). The participants in the SARC-F ≥4 group had poorer grip strength, slower walking speed, poorer physical performance, poorer cognitive function, and a lower quality of life (a high EuroQol-5 dimension score) than the participants in the SARC-F <4 group.
The Korean language version of SARC-F showed a high specificity and high negative predictive value. As such, the tool is useful for briefly ruling out sarcopenia in a clinical setting. In addition, diagnosis of sarcopenia using the SARC-F was found to be associated with physical performance, cognitive function, and the quality of life.
SARC-F 是一种简单的肌少症筛查工具，包含 5 项评估项目：力量、辅助行走、从椅子上起身、爬楼梯和跌倒。本研究旨在检验社区居住的老年人的 SARC-F 韩国版本的有效性。
从韩国虚弱和衰老队列研究的第一年基线数据中，共纳入了符合研究选择标准的 1222 名老年人（70 岁及以上）进行分析。
SARC-F 被翻译成具有文化响应性的韩语。总分通过将 5 项得分相加得出。根据总分（SARC-F<4 与 SARC-F≥4）将参与者分为两组，并按性别检查其与各种因素（如行走速度、手握力、日常活动能力和健康相关生活质量）的相关性。此外，通过与欧洲、国际和亚洲肌少症工作组的肌少症诊断标准进行比较，分析该工具的有效性。
根据 SARC-F，男性肌少症的患病率为 4.2%，女性为 15.3%。与欧洲、国际和亚洲肌少症标准相比，SARC-F 的敏感性较低[男性（M）：11%-60%，女性（F）：28%-34%]。然而，SARC-F 表现出较高的特异性（M：96.6%-98%，F：85%-87.7%）和较高的阴性预测值（M：89.2%-99.3%，F：88.5%-98.4%）。SARC-F≥4 组的参与者握力较弱、行走速度较慢、身体表现较差、认知功能较差且生活质量（高欧洲五维健康量表评分）较低。
SARC-F 的韩语版本具有较高的特异性和高阴性预测值。因此，该工具在临床环境中可用于简单排除肌少症。此外，使用 SARC-F 诊断肌少症与身体表现、认知功能和生活质量相关。
