Background and Objectives: Although the importance of sarcopenia control has been suggested, there are no minimal detectable change (MDC) studies of older adults with sarcopenia, to our knowledge, and the criteria for determining the effectiveness of interventions are unknown. The purpose of this study was to calculate the MDC in the five times sit-to-stand test (FTSST) in older Japanese adults with sarcopenia and use it as an index to determine the effectiveness of future interventions. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in January and February 2023. The participants of this study were older Japanese adults using daycare rehabilitation. Thirty-eight participants performed the FTSST twice a week. Grip strength, walking speed, and skeletal muscle mass were measured to determine the presence of sarcopenia. The diagnosis of sarcopenia was defined as low skeletal muscle mass and low muscle strength and/or low physical function, based on the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 2019 diagnostic criteria. Participants were further classified as sarcopenic or non-sarcopenic. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and MDCs were calculated for the overall, sarcopenia, and non-sarcopenia groups using the two FTSST measures. The average and difference of the two variables were used to calculate the MDC. Results: Overall, the ICC (1,1) was 0.94, MDC was 2.87 s, and MDC% was 23.3%. The sarcopenia group had an ICC (1,1) of 0.93, MDC of 3.12 s, and MDC% of 24.0%. The non-sarcopenia group had an ICC (1,1) of 0.95, MDC of 2.25 s, and MDC% of 19.2%. Conclusions: Despite the limitation of the data being only from this study population, we found that a change of ≥3.12 s or ≥24.0% in the FTSST of older adults with sarcopenia was clinically meaningful and may help to determine the effectiveness of sarcopenia treatment. The improvement or decline in older Japanese adults with sarcopenia should be determined by changes in the FTSST over a longer period of time than that for other conditions.

Background and Objectives: Early assessment interventions are recommended for older adults with sarcopenia. Gait speed in older adults considerably decreases activities of daily living (ADL). However, the association between ADL and gait speed in older adults with sarcopenia has not yet been fully elucidated. This study aimed to clarify the association between walking speed and ADL in older adults with sarcopenia. Materials and Methods: A total of 72 older adults with sarcopenia who required support or care under Japan’s long-term care insurance system were included. Correlation and multivariate analyses were performed to examine the association between walking speed and ADL performance. A receiver operating characteristic analysis was used to evaluate the discrimination power of gait speed for ADL independence. Results: Gait speed was significantly and positively correlated with the Barthel Index scores for the men and women. ADL were independently and significantly associated with walking speed in the multivariate analysis. The threshold for gait speed that distinguished ADL independence in older adults with sarcopenia was 0.76 m/s (area under the curve = 0.75, sensitivity 72.7%, specificity 74.0%). Conclusions: Decreased gait speed in older adults with sarcopenia was associated with decreased ADL. Gait speed had high discriminatory power in identifying ADL independence. This indicates that an assessment intervention for gait speed in older adults with sarcopenia may have high clinical utility.

In this study, we aimed to investigate the association between the presence of pressure ulcers and body composition parameters in older residents of long-term care facilities and identified the most relevant indicators. This cross-sectional observational study assessed 156 residents. Body composition was measured, including body mass index (BMI) and phase angle (PhA). Functional assessments included the Barthel index (BI), and Clinical Frailty Scale. The participants were classified into two groups based on the presence or absence of pressure ulcers. Group comparisons and receiver operating characteristic analyses were used to determine the area under the curve (AUC) and cutoff values. The diagnostic performance of the combined cutoff values was also examined. Binary logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between PhA and the presence of pressure ulcers. Twenty (12.8%) participants had pressure ulcers, 90% of which were mild-stage. PhA was lower in the pressure ulcer group (p < 0.001), with an optimal cutoff value of 3.1° (AUC 0.72). Using the cutoff values derived from each assessment, the combination of PhA with BI or BMI improved the AUC to a maximum of 0.78. Logistic regression demonstrated a significant association between PhA and the presence of pressure ulcers (p < 0.05). Phase angle may serve as a complementary biomarker for pressure ulcer risk assessment and may be more useful when combined with functional and nutritional indicators. The use of body composition parameters for noninvasive risk assessment could play an important role in future pressure ulcer prevention strategies.