According to new research conducted by the University of Southampton, older people with an age-related loss of muscle mass and strength may be at higher risk of falling and bone fractures.
An analysis by an international team of researchers into sarcopenia -where muscles lose form and function with age - discovered that those with the problem reported greater numbers of falls in the previous year and a higher predominance of fractures.
As per Medical News Today, the deterioration in muscle mass between the ages of 40 and 80 has been supposed to range from 30 to 60 per cent and is linked with sickness, disability and death. However, there are no generally acknowledged criteria with which to determine patients with sarcopenia and determine those who are at risk. Three different structures have been recommended by various institutions, as well as a broader term - 'dysmobility syndrome' - which comprises of different unfavorable factors, such as sarcopenia, together with low walking speed and osteoporosis.
As stated by Dr Michael Clynes, the lead author of the study from Southampton's Medical Research Council (MRC) Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, all of these explanations understand that measuring muscle mass in seclusion is insufficient and a measure of muscle function is also needed, but there are distinction in how function is evaluated. Because of these variations, an individual may sustain various diagnoses depending on how he or she is assessed. This is essential because the better we can determine sarcopenia, the more awareness we have into the health concerns and risks patients face.
The research published in Calcified Tissue International, discovered that the International Working Group on Sarcopenia (IWGS) definition determined the most cases of the condition (8.3 percent of the cohort) and was associated with essentially increased numbers of falls in the previous year and frequent fractures.
These associations were not probable when using the European Working Group for Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) diagnosis or the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health Sarcopenia Project (FNIH) diagnosis (which only recognized two percent as having the condition).
Dysmobility syndrome was typical (affecting 24.8 percent) and correlated to increased numbers of falls, but no increase in the fracture rate.
As stated by Professor Cyrus Cooper, Head of MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, such international partnership emphasize the value of our unique cohort resources in disclosing the causes and producing precautionary measures against musculoskeletal ageing.
