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Abstract Background Sarcopenia, characterized by skeletal muscle loss, is assessed using appendicular muscle mass indices (ASMI), which adjusts total muscle mass in the arms and legs by dividing body mass index (BMI), weight, or height squared. Various international groups propose different ASMI for assessing sarcopenia. However, the optimal ASMI correlating with physical function in older Turkish adults remains unexplored. This study aims to determine the ASMI that most closely correlates with physical function in older Turkish adults. Methods The study included 326 individuals aged 60 and above. Comprehensive geriatric assessments were conducted on all participants, along with anthropometric evaluations and analyses of body composition. ASMI was calculated by adjusting height squared, weight, and BMI. Muscle strength and physical performance were assessed through handgrip strength, gait speed, and the chair stand test. Results The mean age was 74 ± 5.77 years. 59.8% were women and 37.5% of the patients had dynapenia. Height-squared adjusted ASMI was not significantly associated with the gait speed test or the chair stand test. However, BMI-adjusted ASMI showed significant correlations with all parameters related to physical performance (p < 0.05). Furthermore, in multivariate regression analysis, BMI-adjusted ASMI (β = 0.028, 95% CI = 0.01–0.31, p = 0.006) was independently associated with lower handgrip strength. Conclusion The study suggests that ASMI adjusted by BMI presents better correlations with all physical performance parameters and is independently related to dynapenia. Utilizing ASMI adjusted for BMI could enhance sarcopenia diagnosis in older Turkish adults, though further investigations are warranted.
Cataltepe et al. (Fri,) studied this question.