Do sarcopenia risk factors vary with its stages?

The European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) categorizes sarcopenia into three stages: presarcopenia, sarcopenia, and severe sarcopenia. However, we have minimal understanding of risk-factor influence on sarcopenia and its stages. The current study aims to identify and determine whether risk factors vary with sarcopenia stage. A total of 104 adults, aged 55 yr and older, participated in the study. Included risk factors were age; female gender; body-mass index (BMI); Rapid Assessment of Physical Activity score; alcohol consumption; cigarette smoking; presence of type-2 diabetes mellitus; percentage of skeletal mass; Geriatric Depression Scale score; quadriceps and grip strength; gait speed; strength, assistance with walking, rising from a chair, climbing stairs, and falls (SARC F); and physical performance. We use binary logistic regression to determine the odds ratio (OR) for risk factors during different sarcopenia stages. Female gender and BMI show a significant OR in presarcopenia and sarcopenia stages. Percentage of skeletal mass associates only in presarcopenia, whereas quadriceps and grip strength, depression, and SARC F are significant in the sarcopenia stage. Low physical performance is the only risk factor that is significant in the severe sarcopenia stage (p ≤ 0.05). We identify risk factors present at different sarcopenia stages and find risk-factor change with increasing syndrome severity.