Relationship between Sarcopenia and Mortality in Elderly Inpatients

Abstract

Objective: Sarcopenia, a geriatric syndrome, is an indicator of poor prognosis in elderly inpatients. In thisstudy, we aimed to determine the effect of sarcopenia on mortality in elderly patients.Materials and Methods: Mobile/immobile geriatric inpatients, treated in the internal medicine ward betweenFebruary and November 2018, were included in the study between Days 2 and 7 of hospitalization. The patients’ fat-free mass (FFM) was measured by bioimpedance. The FFM index (FFMI) (kg/m2) was determinedby dividing fat-free mass by body surface area (FFM/BSA). Sarcopenia was defined as a FFMI value at leasttwo standard deviations below the gender-specific mean of normal young adults.Results: The study included 200 geriatric inpatients; 96 (48.0%) were men, and the mean age was 74.49±6.32years. Sarcopenia was detected in 28 (14%) of the patients. Diabetes mellitus was associated with a significantly lower sarcopenia prevalence (p=0.006). The risk of sarcopenia was 9.046 times higher in malnourished patients. The sarcopenia group had more deaths (p=0.012).Conclusion: Sarcopenia in geriatric inpatients increased the length of hospital stay and mortality. Our findings may guide future studies examining the relationship between sarcopenia and mortality among elderlyinpatients in other hospitals.