Malnutrition and sarcopenia Sieber, Cornel C.
Aging clinical and experimental research,
06/2019, Volume:
31, Issue:
6
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Risk for or established malnutrition is frequent in older adults, accompanied by functional limitations, increased morbidity and mortality. Protein-energy malnutrition is often observed and leads ...besides other predisposing factors to sarcopenia, the increased loss of muscle mass with aging. Sarcopenia is an integral correlate of the physical component of the frailty syndrome. Even though sarcopenia often reaches levels where mobility, balance and functionality on overall are hampered, its diagnosis has not become part of the standard diagnostic and therapeutic repertoire of geriatric medicine. This will hopefully change with a recently published revised international definition of sarcopenia, as well an own ICD-number. From a pathophysiological point of view, both malnutrition and sarcopenia share many components, a low-inflammatory state (inflamm-aging) being an important one. Nutritional interventions with and without parallel physical activity programs can prevent and often also reverse sarcopenia. It is hoped that upcoming even more potent nutritional treatment options—including for sarcopenic obesity—will lower the burden of malnutrition and sarcopenia for many older adults.
Frailty has emerged as a true geriatric syndrome with increasing interest for both basic scientist as well as clinicians. The conceptual frame of a decreased resistance to internal and external ...stressors shows - when speaking of physical frailty – substantial overlaps to primary sarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle mass.
Consensus for the definition of frailty and sarcopenia is rapidly increasing and ease the path for a common understanding of these syndromes with high impact on functionality, independence and thereby quality of life of older adults.
Ageing per se has long been thought to be unalterable and being the major cause for most chronic diseases and frailty. Significant increases in the understanding of cellular senescence now challenge this. Interventions may delay age-related conditions and thus compressing late-life morbidity with positive consequences for public health. Besides pharmacological interventions, lifestyle choices including diet and physical activity can optimize the biology of ageing and extend healthy life span.
•Frailty is a true geriatric syndrome.•Sarcopenia is strongly related to functionality in older adults.•Frailty and sarcopenia partly overlap with respect to functionality and outcomes.•The EU-project SPRINTT aims to capture the inter-relationship of sarcopenia and frailty.•A ICD-10-Code for sarcopenia (M62.84) will be effective October 1, 2016.
Nutrition, frailty, and sarcopenia Cruz-Jentoft, Alfonso J.; Kiesswetter, Eva; Drey, Michael ...
Aging clinical and experimental research,
02/2017, Volume:
29, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Frailty and sarcopenia are important concepts in the quest to prevent physical dependence, as geriatrics are shifting towards identifications of early stages of disability. Definitions of both ...sarcopenia and frailty are still developing, and both concepts clearly overlap in their physical aspects. Malnutrition (both undernutrition and obesity) plays a key role in the pathogenesis of frailty and sarcopenia. The quality of the diet along the lifespan has a close relation with the incidence of both entities, and nutritional interventions may be able to reduce the incidence or revert either of them. This brief review explores the role of energy and protein intake and other key nutrients on muscle function. Nutrition may be a key element of multimodal interventions for frailty and sarcopenia. The results of the “Sarcopenia and Physical fRailty IN older people: multi-componenT Treatment strategies” (SPRINTT) trial will offer key insights on the effect of such interventions in frail, sarcopenic older individuals.
Sarcopenia, frailty, cachexia and malnutrition are widespread syndromes in older people, characterized by loss of body tissue and related to poor outcome. The aim of the present cross-sectional study ...was to assess the prevalence of these syndromes and their overlap in older medical inpatients.
Patients aged 70 years or older who had been admitted to the internal medical department of a German university hospital were recruited. Sarcopenia, frailty, cachexia and malnutrition were assessed in a standardized manner according to current consensus definitions. Prevalence rates of these syndromes and their constituents and the concurrent occurrence of the syndromes (overlap) were calculated.
One hundred patients (48 female) aged 76.5 ± 4.7 years with a BMI of 27.6 ± 5.5 kg/m
were included. The main diagnoses were gastroenterological (33%) and oncological diseases (31%). Sarcopenia was present in 42%, frailty in 33%, cachexia in 32% and malnutrition in 15% of the patients. 63% had at least one syndrome: 32% one, 11% two, 12% three and 8% all four. All four syndromes are characterized by significant weight loss during the last 12 months, which was most pronounced in malnourished patients and least pronounced in frail patients, and by significantly reduced physical performance. All syndromes were significantly pairwise related, except malnutrition and frailty. In 19% of patients sarcopenia and frailty occurred concurrently, in 20% frailty and cachexia and in 22% sarcopenia and cachexia with or without additional other syndromes. All malnourished patients except one were also cachectic (93%) and 80% of malnourished patients were also sarcopenic. 53% of malnourished patients were in addition frail, and these patients were affected by all four syndromes.
Nearly two thirds of older medical inpatients had at least one of the tissue loss syndromes sarcopenia, frailty, cachexia and malnutrition. The syndromes overlapped partly and were interrelated. Future studies with larger patient groups and longitudinal design are required to clarify the significance of single and concurrent occurrence of these syndromes for clinical outcome and successful therapy.
Malnutrition and dehydration are widespread in older people, and obesity is an increasing problem. In clinical practice, it is often unclear which strategies are suitable and effective in ...counteracting these key health threats.
To provide evidence-based recommendations for clinical nutrition and hydration in older persons in order to prevent and/or treat malnutrition and dehydration. Further, to address whether weight-reducing interventions are appropriate for overweight or obese older persons.
This guideline was developed according to the standard operating procedure for ESPEN guidelines and consensus papers. A systematic literature search for systematic reviews and primary studies was performed based on 33 clinical questions in PICO format. Existing evidence was graded according to the SIGN grading system. Recommendations were developed and agreed in a multistage consensus process.
We provide eighty-two evidence-based recommendations for nutritional care in older persons, covering four main topics: Basic questions and general principles, recommendations for older persons with malnutrition or at risk of malnutrition, recommendations for older patients with specific diseases, and recommendations to prevent, identify and treat dehydration. Overall, we recommend that all older persons shall routinely be screened for malnutrition in order to identify an existing risk early. Oral nutrition can be supported by nursing interventions, education, nutritional counseling, food modification and oral nutritional supplements. Enteral nutrition should be initiated if oral, and parenteral if enteral nutrition is insufficient or impossible and the general prognosis is altogether favorable. Dietary restrictions should generally be avoided, and weight-reducing diets shall only be considered in obese older persons with weight-related health problems and combined with physical exercise. All older persons should be considered to be at risk of low-intake dehydration and encouraged to consume adequate amounts of drinks. Generally, interventions shall be individualized, comprehensive and part of a multimodal and multidisciplinary team approach.
A range of effective interventions is available to support adequate nutrition and hydration in older persons in order to maintain or improve nutritional status and improve clinical course and quality of life. These interventions should be implemented in clinical practice and routinely used.
doi: 10.1093/ageing/afy169In the original version of the above paper there was an error in Table 3, which shows the recommended cut-offpoints for ASM/height2 in women. The cut-off point was given as ...<6.0 kg/m2, but the correct value is <5.5 kg/m2. Thishas now been corrected online.The authors wish to apologise for this error
Loss of skeletal muscle mass and function (sarcopenia) is common in individuals with obesity due to metabolic changes associated with a sedentary lifestyle, adipose tissue derangements, comorbidities ...(acute and chronic diseases), and during the ageing process. Co-existence of excess adiposity and low muscle mass/function is referred to as sarcopenic obesity (SO), a condition increasingly recognized for its clinical and functional features that negatively influence important patient-centred outcomes. Effective prevention and treatment strategies for SO are urgently needed, but efforts are hampered by the lack of an universally established SO Definition and diagnostic criteria. Resulting inconsistencies in the literature also negatively affect the ability to define prevalence as well as clinical relevance of SO for negative health outcomes.
The European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) and the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO) launched an initiative to reach expert consensus on a Definition and diagnostic criteria for SO. The jointly appointed international expert panel proposes that SO is defined as the co-existence of excess adiposity and low muscle mass/function. The diagnosis of SO should be considered in at-risk individuals who screen positive for a co-occurring elevated body mass index or waist circumference, and markers of low skeletal muscle mass and function (risk factors, clinical symptoms, or validated questionnaires). Diagnostic procedures should initially include assessment of skeletal muscle function, followed by assessment of body composition where presence of excess adiposity and low skeletal muscle mass or related body compartments confirm the diagnosis of SO. Individuals with SO should be further stratified into Stage I in the absence of clinical complications, or Stage II if cases are associated with complications linked to altered body composition or skeletal muscle dysfunction.
ESPEN and EASO, as well as the expert international panel, advocate that the proposed SO Definition and diagnostic criteria be implemented into routine clinical practice. The panel also encourages prospective studies in addition to secondary analysis of existing datasets, to study the predictive value, treatment efficacy, and clinical impact of this SO definition.
New evidence shows that older adults need more dietary protein than do younger adults to support good health, promote recovery from illness, and maintain functionality. Older people need to make up ...for age-related changes in protein metabolism, such as high splanchnic extraction and declining anabolic responses to ingested protein. They also need more protein to offset inflammatory and catabolic conditions associated with chronic and acute diseases that occur commonly with aging. With the goal of developing updated, evidence-based recommendations for optimal protein intake by older people, the European Union Geriatric Medicine Society (EUGMS), in cooperation with other scientific organizations, appointed an international study group to review dietary protein needs with aging (PROT-AGE Study Group). To help older people (>65 years) maintain and regain lean body mass and function, the PROT-AGE study group recommends average daily intake at least in the range of 1.0 to 1.2 g protein per kilogram of body weight per day. Both endurance- and resistance-type exercises are recommended at individualized levels that are safe and tolerated, and higher protein intake (ie, ≥1.2 g/kg body weight/d) is advised for those who are exercising and otherwise active. Most older adults who have acute or chronic diseases need even more dietary protein (ie, 1.2–1.5 g/kg body weight/d). Older people with severe kidney disease (ie, estimated GFR <30 mL/min/1.73m2), but who are not on dialysis, are an exception to this rule; these individuals may need to limit protein intake. Protein quality, timing of ingestion, and intake of other nutritional supplements may be relevant, but evidence is not yet sufficient to support specific recommendations. Older people are vulnerable to losses in physical function capacity, and such losses predict loss of independence, falls, and even mortality. Thus, future studies aimed at pinpointing optimal protein intake in specific populations of older people need to include measures of physical function.
Abstract
Background
in 2010, the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) published a sarcopenia definition that aimed to foster advances in identifying and caring for people ...with sarcopenia. In early 2018, the Working Group met again (EWGSOP2) to update the original definition in order to reflect scientific and clinical evidence that has built over the last decade. This paper presents our updated findings.
Objectives
to increase consistency of research design, clinical diagnoses and ultimately, care for people with sarcopenia.
Recommendations
sarcopenia is a muscle disease (muscle failure) rooted in adverse muscle changes that accrue across a lifetime; sarcopenia is common among adults of older age but can also occur earlier in life. In this updated consensus paper on sarcopenia, EWGSOP2: (1) focuses on low muscle strength as a key characteristic of sarcopenia, uses detection of low muscle quantity and quality to confirm the sarcopenia diagnosis, and identifies poor physical performance as indicative of severe sarcopenia; (2) updates the clinical algorithm that can be used for sarcopenia case-finding, diagnosis and confirmation, and severity determination and (3) provides clear cut-off points for measurements of variables that identify and characterise sarcopenia.
Conclusions
EWGSOP2's updated recommendations aim to increase awareness of sarcopenia and its risk. With these new recommendations, EWGSOP2 calls for healthcare professionals who treat patients at risk for sarcopenia to take actions that will promote early detection and treatment. We also encourage more research in the field of sarcopenia in order to prevent or delay adverse health outcomes that incur a heavy burden for patients and healthcare systems.
Maintaining or improving quality of life (QoL) is a key outcome of clinical interventions in older people. Fear of falling (FoF) is associated with activity restriction as well as with poorer ...physical and cognitive functions and may be an important contributor to a diminished QoL. The objectives of this systematic review were to determine i) the effect of FoF on QoL in older people, ii) whether the association between these two constructs depends on the use of specific conceptualizations and measurement instruments, and iii) the role of fall events as mediating factor in this relationship. Four electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library) were searched from their inceptions to February 2018. Thirty mostly cross-sectional studies in nearly 30.000 people (weighted mean age 75.6 years (SD =6.1); 73% women) were included. FoF was associated with QoL in most studies, and this association appeared to be independent of the conceptualization of FoF. Moreover, this relationship was independent of falls people experienced which seemed to have a lower impact. FoF should be considered not only as by-product of falls and targeted interventions in parts different from those to reduce falls are likely required. Studies are needed showing that reducing FoF will lead to increased QoL.
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