Development of a Sarcopenia Score for Sarcopenia Screening in Community-Dwelling Older Adults
Unchalee Seekan, MD¹
, Worapong Sucharitpongpan, MD²
Affiliation : ¹ Department of Family Medicine, Nan Hospital, Nan, Thailand; ² Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nan Hospital, Nan, Thailand
Abstract
Background: Sarcopenia is common among community-dwelling older adults and is associated with increased risks of falls, disability, and mortality. Although several screening tools exist, many require specialized equipment or show limited diagnostic accuracy in community settings. Practical clinical prediction models using easily obtainable variables are therefore needed.
Objective: To develop and internally validate a simple clinical prediction model and scoring system for screening sarcopenia in community-dwelling older adults.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,474 adults aged ≥60 years in Nan Municipality, Thailand (January to December 2024). Sarcopenia was defined using handgrip strength according to the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS) 2019 criteria. Clinical variables included sex, age, body mass index (BMI), Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, and SARC-F questionnaire score. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent predictors of sarcopenia. A sarcopenia score (SS) was derived from multivariate beta coefficients and internally validated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis.
Results: Sarcopenia was identified in 731 participants (49.6%). Independent predictors included male sex (adjusted OR 3.43), age ≥70 years (adjusted OR 2.78), BMI <20 kg/m² (adjusted OR 1.82), TUG ≥12 seconds (adjusted OR 2.50), and SARC-F score ≥4 (adjusted OR 3.34) (all p<0.001). The SS ranged from 0 to 8.5 points and demonstrated good discrimination (AUC 0.756; 95% CI: 0.732–0.781). An optimal cut-off score of 2.25 yielded a sensitivity of 60.1% and specificity of 78.1%. The SS showed higher overall accuracy (69.1%) than TUG or SARC-F alone.
Conclusion: The SS is a simple, low-cost, and practical screening tool that may support early identification of sarcopenia among community-dwelling older adults in primary care settings.
Received 13 February 2026 | Revised 29 April 2026 | Accepted 21 May 2026
J Med Assoc Thai 2026;109(8):689-96
Keywords : Predictive model; Sarcopenia; Screening; Handgrip strength; Older adults
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