Enhancing the Validity of the SARC-CalF Questionnaire with a Sit-to-Stand Question for Sarcopenia Screening

Abstract The SARC-CalF questionnaire is a screening tool for sarcopenia, but its sensitivity remains limited. To enhance the sensitivity of this questionnaire for sarcopenia screening, we modified it by incorporating a question about the 5-time sit-to-stand test and renamed it the "SARC-CalF-STS questionnaire". This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic validity of the SARC-CalF-STS questionnaire for screening sarcopenia among elderly individuals. The SARC-CalF-STS questionnaire was tested on outpatients aged ≥ 60 years who had visited at our hospital. Sarcopenia diagnosis was established by measuring the appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (ASM) using Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) scans and handgrip strength. Diagnoses were based on the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS) 2019 criteria. The study included 170 participants with a mean age of 68.8 ± 6.4 years. The prevalence of sarcopenia was found to be 20.59%. The SARC-CalF-STS questionnaire demonstrated a sensitivity of 77.1%, specificity of 54.1%, positive predictive value of 30.3%, and negative predictive value of 90.1%. The SARC-CalF-STS questionnaire displayed relatively high sensitivity, suggesting that it may serve as a potentially valuable initial screening tool for sarcopenia, especially among elderly female populations.