Pugliesi Abdalla, Pedro, Mónica Silva, Analiza, Rossini Venturini, Ana Claudia, Pereira dos Santos, André, dos Santos Carvalho, Anderson, Assis Alves Siqueira, Vitor Antonio, Barsanulfo Gomide, Euripedes, Maira da Cruz Alves, Natália, Ferriolli, Eduardo, Lopes Machado, Dalmo Roberto, Abdalla, Pedro Pugliesi, Silva, Analiza Mónica, Venturini, Ana Cláudia Rossini, Santos, André Pereira Dos, Carvalho, Anderson Dos Santos, Siqueira, Vitor Antonio Assis Alves, Gomide, Euripedes Barsanulfo, Alves, Natália Maira da Cruz, and Machado, Dalmo Roberto Lopes
Introduction: Introduction: appropriate appendicular lean soft tissue (ALST) parameters to identify sarcopenia in Brazil are scarce. The use of international references may lead to a false positive diagnosis. The objective was to propose cut-off points to identify sarcopenia in older men and women using DXA-derived ALST values from a young adult population. Methods: this was an observational study with a cross-sectional analysis. University students of both sexes (n = 125), aged 20 to 30 years, underwent anthropometric measurements and DXA scanning to obtain their ALST (kg). Cut-off points for sarcopenia were set at -2 standard deviations (-2SDs) away from the mean ALST of a young sample. Absolute values and indices (ALST/height2, ALST/weight, and ALST/body mass index [BMI]) were considered as recommended by international consensus. Results: compared to women, men presented higher values of weight, height, BMI, bone mineral content, lean soft tissue, ALST, and ALST index (kg/m²). Only fat mass was higher in women, and age was not different between genders. The -2SD ALST indices obtained were ≤ 6.56 kg/m² for men and ≤ 4.67 kg/m² for women. They were below international and national values, which tended to classify false positives. Conclusions: the -2SD ALST values proposed here are validated cut-offs for identifying low muscle in older adults and to prevent misdiagnosis with sarcopenia. In addition, they contribute to efficient monitoring and control of this disease in geriatric populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]