Sit-to-Stand Video Analysis-Based App for Diagnosing Sarcopenia and Its Relationship With Health-Related Risk Factors and Frailty in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Diagnostic Accuracy Study

Abstract

Background: Probable sarcopenia is determined by a reduction in muscle strength assessed with the handgrip strength test or 5 times sit-to-stand test, and it is confirmed with a reduction in muscle quantity determined by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry or bioelectrical impedance analysis. However, these parameters are not implemented in clinical practice mainly due to a lack of equipment and time constraints. Nowadays, the technical innovations incorporated in most smartphone devices, such as high-speed video cameras, provide the opportunity to develop specific smartphone apps for measuring kinematic parameters related with sarcopenia during a simple sit-to-stand transition.

Objective: We aimed to create and validate a sit-to-stand video analysis-based app for diagnosing sarcopenia in community-dwelling older adults and to analyze its construct validity with health-related risk factors and frailty.

Methods: A total of 686 community-dwelling older adults (median age: 72 years; 59.2% [406/686] female) were recruited from elderly social centers. The index test was a sit-to-stand video analysis-based app using muscle power and calf circumference as proxies of muscle strength and muscle quantity, respectively. The reference standard was obtained by different combinations of muscle strength (handgrip strength or 5 times sit-to-stand test result) and muscle quantity (appendicular skeletal mass or skeletal muscle index) as recommended by the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People-2 (EWGSOP2). Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic curve were calculated to determine the diagnostic accuracy of the app. Construct validity was evaluated using logistic regression to identify the risks associated with health-related outcomes and frailty (Fried phenotype) among those individuals who were classified as having sarcopenia by the index test.

Results: Sarcopenia prevalence varied from 2% to 11% according to the different combinations proposed by the EWGSOP2 guideline. Sensitivity, specificity, and AUC were 70%-83.3%, 77%-94.9%, and 80.5%-87.1%, respectively, depending on the diagnostic criteria used. Likewise, positive and negative predictive values were 10.6%-43.6% and 92.2%-99.4%, respectively. These results proved that the app was reliable to rule out the disease. Moreover, those individuals who were diagnosed with sarcopenia according to the index test showed more odds of having health-related adverse outcomes and frailty compared to their respective counterparts, regardless of the definition proposed by the EWGSOP2.

Conclusions: The app showed good diagnostic performance for detecting sarcopenia in well-functioning Spanish community-dwelling older adults. Individuals with sarcopenia diagnosed by the app showed more odds of having health-related risk factors and frailty compared to their respective counterparts. These results highlight the potential use of this app in clinical settings.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05148351; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05148351.

International registered report identifier (irrid): RR2-10.3390/s22166010.

Keywords: affordable; calf circumference; community dwelling; diagnosis; older adults; power; sarcopenia; screening; smartphone.