Screening for Sarcopenia in GR by Estimating Muscle Mass from Routine Care Data: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction Sarcopenia is largely underdiagnosed in Geriatric rehabilitation (GR). Diagnosing sarcopenia and muscle mass in particular requires scarce equipment like a CT scan or bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), which are generally not available. We explore whether muscle mass can be successfully predicted using routine care data.Methods In this cross-sectional study, the appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) of GR patients was measured using BIA. Routine care data from electronic patient files were explored to construct a prediction model for determining muscle mass using linear regression backward modeling.Results Out of 150 included patients, 56 were identified with low ASM. This could significantly (p < 0.001) be predicted by gender, BMI, handgrip strength, and the Ten Meter Walk test, with 70.5% of the variance explained.Conclusion Muscle mass and, thereby, sarcopenia can be successfully predicted in GR patients using routine-care data. Further research on the external validity of our model is necessary.