Abstract
Objective: To determine the prevalence of sarcopenia identified by the SARC-F, SARC-CalF, and calf circumference screening tools, and to investigate the impact of sarcopenia defined by the SARC-CalF questionnaire on short-term clinical outcomes (falls, all-cause hospitalization, and death) over a 6-month follow-up period in elderly outpatients with osteoporosis.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study with 6-month follow-up was conducted from July 2023 to May 2024 in 422 elderly outpatients with osteoporosis at the University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City. Sarcopenia was identified using the SARC-F questionnaire, the SARC-CalF questionnaire, and calf circumference measurements. Clinical outcomes (falls, all-cause hospitalization, and death) were recorded after 6 months and compared between the sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic groups defined by SARC-CalF.
Results: The prevalence of sarcopenia, as screened by the SARC-F, SARC-CalF, and calf circumference tools, was 7.58%, 37.91%, and 54.98%, respectively. After 6 months, the sarcopenic group (SARC-CalF) had higher rates of falls (33.12%) and all-cause hospitalization (43.12%) than the non-sarcopenic group (11.83% and 8.78%, respectively; p < 0.001), no deaths were recorded. Multivariate logistic regression showed that sarcopenia (SARC-CalF) was independently associated with hospitalization for any cause (OR = 8.7; 95% CI: 4.29–17.64; p < 0.001).
Conclusion: Among elderly outpatients with osteoporosis, sarcopenia prevalence varied considerably by screening tool; SARC-CalF showed a better balance between physical performance and muscle mass and may be preferentially used for early screening. Sarcopenia defined by SARC-CalF was independently associated with all-cause hospitalization over 6 months, supporting the importance of early screening to guide monitoring and intervention strategies.
| Published | 2026-09-28 | |
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| Issue | Vol. 16 No. 5 (2026) | |
| Section | Original Articles | |
| DOI | 10.34071/jmp.2026.5.970 | |
| Keywords | Sarcopenia, SARC-CalF, calf circumference, falls, Kidney transplantation, Osteoporosis Thiếu cơ, SARC-CalF, chu vi vòng bắp chân, té ngã, loãng xương |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2026 Hue Journal of Medicine and Pharmacy
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