Poor performance of strength, assistance with walking, rising from a chair, climbing stairs and falls for sarcopenia screening in cirrhosis: A pilot study

Table 1 Sample characteristics, n (%)/mean ± SD

Continuous variables	Total sample	Women	Men	P value
	n = 45 (100%)	n = 22 (48.9%)	n = 23 (51.1%)
Age (years)	61.09 ± 8.77	62.09 ± 9.13	60.1 3 ± 8.51	0.460
SARC-F (points)	1.89 ± 2.08	2.23 ± 2.27	1.57 ± 1.88	0.291
Handgrip strength (kg)	31.60 ± 15.12	25.45 ±13.04	37.48 ± 14.87	0.006
5x sit-to-stand test (second)	17.05 ± 6.87	16.30 ± 4.62	17.76 ± 8.55	0.482
Weight (kg)	81.31 ± 15.54	76.49 ± 13.30	85.92 ± 16.39	0.040
Height (m)	1.65 ± 0.08	1.60 ± 0.06	1.71 ± 0.07	< 0.001
BMI (kg/m²)	29.75 ± 5.29	29.95 ± 4.82	29.55 ± 5.81	0.805
Phase angle	5.46 ± 1.83	5.07 ± 2.06	5.82 ± 1.56	0.323
Categoric variables
Screening by SARC-F¹	8 (17.8)	4 (18.2)	4 (17.4)	0.893
Screening by JAMAR¹	15 (33.3)	8 (36.4)	7 (30.4)	0.419
Screening by TSL¹	21 (46.7)	11 (50)	10 (43.5)	0.550
SARC-F 1: Strength				0.354
Able	32 (71.1)	14 (63.6)	18 (78.3)
Partially unable/some difficulty	9 (20)	6 (27.3)	3 (13)
Unable/severe difficulty	4 (8.9)	2 (9.1)	2 (8.7)
SARC-F 2: Assisted walking				0.495
Able	39 (86.7)	19 (86.4)	20 (87)
Partially unable/some difficulty	5 (11.1)	3 (13.6)	2 (8.7)
Unable/severe difficulty	1 (2.2)	0 (-)	1 (4.3)
SARC-F 3: Rise from a chair				0.418
Able	27 (60)	11 (50)	16 (69.6)
Partially unable/some difficulty	16 (35.6)	10 (45.5)	6 (26.1)
Unable/severe difficulty	2 (4.4)	1 (4.5)	1 (4.3)
SARC-F 4: Climbing stairs				0.841
Able	22 (48.9)	8 (36.4)	14 (60.9)
Partially unable/some difficulty	18 (40)	11 (50)	7 (30.4)
Unable/severe difficulty	5 (11.1)	3 (13.6)	2 (8.7)
SARC-F 5: Falls				0.514
None	37 (82.2)	18 (81.8)	19 (82.6)
1-3	3 (6.7)	1 (4.5)	2 (8.7)
> 3	5 (11.1)	3 (13.6)	2 (8.7)

¹Screening was performed in patients with suspected sarcopenia, defined as those below the cutoff points for the indicators according to the European working group on sarcopenia in older people 2. In cross-tabulations, strength, assistance with walking, rising from a chair, climbing stairs and falls showed no true positives when compared with handgrip strength (HGS) and five-times sit-to-stand test (5xSTS). The proportion of true negatives was 48% for HGS and 35% for 5xSTS.

BMI: Body mass index; SARC-F: Strength, assistance with walking, rising from a chair, climbing stairs and falls; JAMAR: Jamar dynamometer; TSL: Total skeletal lean mass.

Table 2 Cross tables comparing strength, assistance with walking, rising from a chair, climbing stairs and falls with other tools for screening sarcopenia in cirrhotic patients, n (%)

Crossing SARC-F and HGS		Screening HGS1
		Negative	Positive
Screening SARC-F1	Negative	22 (48.5)	15 (33.3)
	Positive	8 (17.2)	0 (-)
Answers
Sensibility (%)		73.3
Specificity (%)		0
PPV (%)		59.5
NPV (%)		0

¹The screening is referred to patients with suspected sarcopenia, it means, those below the cutoff points for the indicators, according to European working group on sarcopenia in older people 2.

SARC-F: Strength, assistance with walking, rising from a chair, climbing stairs and falls; PPV: Positive predictive value; NPV: Negative predictive value; HGS: Handgrip strength.

Table 3 Cross tables comparing strength, assistance with walking, rising from a chair, climbing stairs and falls with other tools for screening sarcopenia in cirrhotic patients, n (%)

Crossing SARC-F and 5xSTS		Screening 5xSTS
		Negative	Positive
Screening SARC-F	Negative	16 (35.6)	21 (46.7)
	Positive	8 (17.2)	0 (-)
Answers
Sensibility (%)		66.7
Specificity (%)		0
PPV (%)		43.2
NPV (%)		0

The screening is referred to patients with suspected sarcopenia, it means, those below the cutoff points for the indicators, according to European working group on sarcopenia in older people 2. SARC-F: Strength, assistance with walking, rising from a chair, climbing stairs and falls; PPV: Positive predictive value; NPV: Negative predictive value; 5xSTS: Five-times sit-to-stand test.