An Association Study of Sarcopenia in the Community-dwelling Elderly – A Case Study of a Certain Community at Yuanshan Township in Yilan County

Autor: Yun-Hua Kuo, 郭昀華
Rok vydání: 2017
Druh dokumentu: 學位論文 ; thesis
Popis: 105
Due to its steadily increasing elderly population, Taiwan has been an aging society since 1993, and will become an aged society by 2018. The elderly will account for 20% of the population by 2026, at which time Taiwan will be a hyper-aged society. Sarcopenia is a commonly seen syndrome in the elderly; it occurs due to loss of muscular strength and muscle mass in the wake of physical aging, and is one of the chief factors leading to disability, hospital care, and death. According to the operational definition of sarcopenia by the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS), sarcopenia may exist in elderly persons over the age of 60 or 65 when muscle mass has decreased and is accompanied by reduced walking speed or grip strength. The AWGS's recommended criteria for sarcopenia among Asians include muscle mass below 7.0 kg/m2 in men and 5.4 kg/m2 in women (assessed using a dual energy x-ray absorptiometer), a walking speed of less than 0.8 m/sec., and grip strength of less than 26 kg in men and less than 18 kg in women. Sarcopenia can result in many complications and may lead to reduced everyday physical activity in the elderly. This may affect quality of life so many researchers have turned their attention to the important issue of how to improve sarcopenia. The goal of this study was to investigate the factors associated with sarcopenia among elderly persons in Taiwan. The results may provide guidance for future health education and interventional measures of physical function in elderly persons with sarcopenia. This study employed a cross-sectional research design, and used quota sampling of household registration data. The research subjects consisted of elderly persons over the age of 65 who lived in a certain community in Yuanshan Township, Yilan County between August 2011 and May 2014, met the inclusion criteria, and were willing to participate in the study. A questionnaire and scale were employed to collect data including basic individual attributes, disease history, health behavior, a short nutritional assessment record form, a physical component summary (PCS), and a mental component summary (MCS). Physical examinations included grip strength, walking speed, muscle mass, and blood tests. The data were analyzed using SPSS 20.0 statistical software; descriptive and inferential statistical analyses included means, standard deviations, frequency distribution, percentages, independent sample t-tests, and Pearson's coefficient of correlation to show the distribution and influence of the various variables. The results indicated that men had a significantly higher incidence of sarcopenia (9.3%) than did women (4.1%), but 38.1% of those subjects classified as having no sarcopenia had early problems associated with it. In addition, age, years of education, waist circumference, height, weight, body mass index (BMI), walking speed, grip strength, total weight of body fat, net body weight, appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM), relative appendicular skeletal muscle mass (RASM), short nutritional assessment data, hemoglobin, infirmity, and osteoporosis were all correlated with differences in the incidence of sarcopenia, while levels of vitamin D, vitamin B12, and folic acid intake were not. BMI, vitamin D, vitamin B12, and folic acid had significant correlations with ASM and RASM, with BMI and vitamin D having positive correlations, and vitamin B12 and folic acid having negative correlations with RASM. The intake of supplemental vitamin D had a positive correlation with grip strength and walking speed. This study found a higher prevalence of sarcopenia among men than among women. Most men with sarcopenia had poor individual characteristics, poor physiological examination results, and poor nutrition. Women suffering from sarcopenia tended to have different influencing factors than men, and had somewhat fewer risk factors. The study also discovered that even though supplemental nutritional factors (vitamin D, vitamin B12, and folic acid) did not affect the occurrence of sarcopenia, they did influence the development of muscle tissue.
Databáze: Networked Digital Library of Theses & Dissertations
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