Prevalence of Sarcopenia in Indian Menopausal Women Using Calf Muscle Circumference for Screening

Objective: This study was conducted to know the prevalence of sarcopenia in Indian postmenopausal women using calf muscle circumference to measure muscle mass as a screening method and to evaluate menopause as a risk factor for sarcopenia.Materials and methods: A comparative observational cross-sectional study was conducted from August 1, 2022, to December 31, 2023, in 200 women, 100 premenopausal women aged 25-35 years and 100 postmenopausal women.Sarcopenia was assessed according to the Asian Working group for Sarcopenia (AWGS) 2019.Calf circumference was measured with a cutoff < 33 cm for reduced muscle mass.Muscle strength was measured by a handheld dynamometer and physical performance using a 30-second chair stand test.Results: The prevalence of Sarcopenia was 63% (n = 63) in the postmenopausal group, compared to 3% (n = 3) in the premenopausal group.Within the postmenopausal group, sarcopenia was present in 30% (n = 15) of women with ≤10 years since menopause and 96% (n = 48) of women with >10 years since menopause.Menopause was found to be a significant risk factor for sarcopenia with a relative risk of 3.457 (95% CI: 2.615-4.570)with a p-value < 0.0001.Demographic variables like age (p = 0.001), BMI (p = 0.001), duration of menopause (p = 0.001) and menopausal symptoms severity (MRS) score (p = 0.001) were associated with sarcopenia.Conclusion: Menopause was found to be a significant risk factor for sarcopenia with high prevalence in menopause using a screening tool with calf circumference.