Sarcopenia in Parkinson Disease: Comparison of Different Criteria and Association With Disease Severity

Objectives: In Parkinson disease (PD), sarcopenia may represent the common downstream pathway that from motor and nonmotor symptoms leads to the progressive loss of resilience, frailty, and disability. Here we (1) assessed the prevalence of sarcopenia in older adults with PD using 3 different criteria, testing their agreement, and (2) evaluated the association between PD severity and sarcopenia.

Design: Cross-sectional, observation study.

Setting: Geriatric day hospital.

Participants: Older adults with idiopathic PD.

Measurements: Body composition was evaluated through dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. Handgrip strength and walking speed were measured. Sarcopenia was operationalized according to the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older Persons, and the International Working Group. Cohen k statistics was used to test the agreement among criteria.

Results: Among the 210 participants (mean age 73 years; 38% women), the prevalence of sarcopenia was 28.5%-40.7% in men and 17.5%-32.5% in women. The prevalence of severe sarcopenia was 16.8%-20.0% in men and 11.3%-18.8% in women. The agreement among criteria was poor. The highest agreement was obtained between the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older Persons (severe sarcopenia) and International Working Group criteria (k = 0.52 in men; k = 0.65 in women; P < .01 for both). Finally, severe sarcopenia was associated with PD severity (odds ratio 2.30; 95% confidence interval 1.15-4.58).

Conclusions: Sarcopenia is common in PD, with severe sarcopenia being diagnosed in 1 in every 5 patients with PD. We found a significant disagreement among the 3 criteria evaluated, in detecting sarcopenia more than in ruling it out. Finally, sarcopenia is associated with PD severity. Considering its massive prevalence, further studies should address the prognosis of sarcopenia in PD.