Comparison of Characteristics of Definition Criteria for Respiratory Sarcopenia-The Otassya Study

Takeshi Kera; Hisashi Kawai; Manami Ejiri; Kumiko Ito; Hirohiko Hirano; Yoshinori Fujiwara; Kazushige Ihara; Shuichi Obuchi

doi:10.3390/ijerph19148542

Comparison of Characteristics of Definition Criteria for Respiratory Sarcopenia-The Otassya Study

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jul 13;19(14):8542. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19148542.

Authors

Takeshi Kera^{1

2}, Hisashi Kawai², Manami Ejiri², Kumiko Ito², Hirohiko Hirano³, Yoshinori Fujiwara⁴, Kazushige Ihara⁵, Shuichi Obuchi²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physical Therapy, Takasaki University of Health and Welfare, Gunma 370-0033, Japan.
² Research Team for Human Care, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo 173-0015, Japan.
³ Research Team for Promoting Independence and Mental Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo 173-0015, Japan.
⁴ Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo 173-0015, Japan.
⁵ Department of Social Medicine, Hirosaki University School of Medicine, Aomori 036-8562, Japan.

Abstract

We compared the definitions of respiratory sarcopenia obtained from a model based on forced vital capacity (FVC) and whole-body sarcopenia, as recommended by the Japanese Association of Rehabilitation Nutrition (JARN), and a model based on the peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR), as recommended in our previous study. A total of 554 community-dwelling older people without airway obstruction who participated in our study in 2017 were included in the current study. Respiratory function, sarcopenia, and frailty were assessed. Pearson's correlation coefficients of the associations of the FVC and PEFR with physical performance and the receiver operating curves of FVC and PEFR's association with sarcopenia, long-term care insurance (LTCI) certification, and frailty were calculated. The sensitivity and specificity of the two respiratory sarcopenia models were assessed. The FVC and PEFR were associated significantly with physical performance. The areas under the curve for sarcopenia and the LTCI certification in the FVC and PEFR groups were statistically significant in both sexes. While Kera's model had a lower specificity in determining sarcopenia, it had a sensitivity higher than the JARN model. Both models provide suitable definitions of respiratory sarcopenia. Future studies are required to determine other appropriate variables to define respiratory sarcopenia.

Keywords: forced vital capacity; peak expiratory flow rate; respiratory muscle strength; respiratory sarcopenia; sarcopenia.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Aged
Airway Obstruction*
Female
Frailty*
Humans
Male
Peak Expiratory Flow Rate
Sarcopenia* / diagnosis
Vital Capacity

Grants and funding

This research was funded by JSPS KAKENHI (Grant number: 16K01853), the 2017 Health and Labor Sciences Research Grants (39–64 and 40–72) from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan, and the 2017 Research Funding for Longevity Sciences (28–30 and 29–42) from the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology (NCGG), Japan.