Impact of Different Operational Definitions of Sarcopenia on Prevalence in a Population-Based Sample: The Salus in Apulia Study

Background: In 2010, the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP1) issued its first operational definition to diagnose sarcopenia. This was updated in 2019 with a revised sequence of muscle mass and muscle strength (EWGSOP2). The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of these different operational definitions on sarcopenia prevalence in a representative population-based sample. Methods: For each algorithm, the prevalence of sarcopenia-related categories was calculated and related to sociodemographic and lifestyle variables, anthropometric parameters, and laboratory biomarkers. The present analysis used data from the Salus in Apulia Study (Italy, 740 subjects, mean age 75.5 ± 5.9 years, 54% women). Results: The application of the EWGSOP1 adapted algorithm resulted in 85% [95% confidence intervals (CI): 82–88%] non-sarcopenic subjects, 10% (95% CI: 8–12%) pre-sarcopenic subjects, and 5% (95% CI: 3–7%) sarcopenic/severe sarcopenic subjects. The sarcopenia-related categories were inversely related to weight and body mass index (BMI), particularly in overweight/obese subjects, and these categories showed favorable metabolic biomarkers. The EWGSOP2 algorithm yielded 73% (95% CI: 69–76%) non-sarcopenic subjects, 24% (95% CI: 21–27%) probably sarcopenic subjects, and 4% (95% CI: 2–5%) sarcopenic subjects. Conclusions: The present study identified BMI as a potential confounder of the prevalence estimates of sarcopenia-related categories in population-based settings with different EWGSOP operational definitions.