P590 - HANDGRIP STRENGTH OR CHAIR STAND TEST FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF SARCOPENIA? – AGREEMENT AND FEASIBILITY IN PRACTICE

P590

HANDGRIP STRENGTH OR CHAIR STAND TEST FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF SARCOPENIA? – AGREEMENT AND FEASIBILITY IN PRACTICE

K. Uhlmann^1,*, U. Lehmann¹, A. Meichtry¹, M. Spielmanns^2,3, S. Spielmanns², R. Khatami^4,5, L. Marti^1,4, S. Rüegsegger-Wittwer⁴, R. W. Kressig^6,7, C. M. Kiss⁶, C. Maguire⁸, A. Zurfluh⁹, T. Marcin⁹

¹Division Nutrition and Dietetics, Department of Health Professions, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Bern, ²Klinik Wald, Zürcher Reha Zentren, Wald, Switzerland, ³Faculty of Health, Department Pneumology, University of Witten-Herdecke, Witten - Herdecke, Germany, ⁴Klinik Barmelweid AG, Barmelweid, ⁵Department of Neurology, University Hospital Bern, Bern, ⁶University Department of Geriatric Medicine Felix Platter, ⁷University of Basel, ⁸REHAB, Basel, ⁹Rehabilitation & Sports Medicine, Insel Group, University Hospital Bern, Berner Reha Zentrum, Bern, Switzerland

Rationale: The European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP2) recommends handgrip strength (HGS) or chair-stand test (CST) to detect muscle weakness as the first part of the diagnostic process. The study aimed to investigate the feasibility and agreement of HGS and CST for confirmed sarcopenia in an inpatient rehabilitation setting.

Methods: A secondary analysis of a cross-sectional prevalence study in five Swiss rehabilitation centers was conducted. A Martin Vigorimeter was used to measure HGS, with low HGS defined as <50 kPa for men and <34 kPa for women >75 years old, and <64 kPa for men and <42 kPa for women ≤75 years old. The CST was performed using the Five Times Sit-to-Stand Test with a cut-off value of ≥15 s or long-term inability to perform the test. Sarcopenia was confirmed if appendicular skeletal muscle mass index was <7.0 kg/m² for men and <5.5 kg/m² for women. The feasibility of HGS and CST was analyzed descriptively. Cohen's kappa was calculated to assess the agreement.

Results: The study included 558 patients (51.8% male, median age 73.0 years). Assessment of HGS was possible in 92.1% and CST in 42.4%. The main factors contributing to the infeasibility of CST included immobility, pain, dizziness or nausea. The prevalence of confirmed sarcopenia with HGS as primary measurement was 22.9% and 27.3% with CST. There was moderate agreement in the diagnosis of confirmed sarcopenia between HGS and CST (Cohens kappa 0.58, n=454).

Conclusion: Handgrip strength seems to be more feasible for inpatient rehabilitation as it could be performed in most patients, but it underestimates the prevalence of sarcopenia compared to the CST. The moderate agreement and similar prevalence rates suggest that HGS and CST may not identify the same patients as sarcopenic and therefore should not be used interchangeably. If possible both measurements should be conducted.

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Disclosure of Interest: K. Uhlmann Grant / Research Support from: The study was financially supported by Fresenius Kabi (Switzerland) AG. , U. Lehmann: None declared, A. Meichtry: None declared, M. Spielmanns: None declared, S. Spielmanns: None declared, R. Khatami: None declared, L. Marti: None declared, S. Rüegsegger-Wittwer: None declared, R. W. Kressig: None declared, C. M. Kiss: None declared, C. Maguire: None declared, A. Zurfluh: None declared, T. Marcin: None declared