Sarcopenia Incidence From Age 65 to 90+ Years From 2011 to 2023 in the ARIC Cohort

TL;DR

This study tracks how sarcopenia, a condition causing muscle loss in older adults, increases with age and varies by race and sex in a U.S. cohort from 2011 to 2023.

Contribution

The study provides new age-specific sarcopenia incidence rates by race and sex in older adults using recent data from the ARIC cohort.

Findings

Sarcopenia prevalence rose from 5.0% at age 65-69 to 36.0% at age 85-89 years.

Incidence rates increased with age, reaching about 5% per year for most groups by age 80–89.

Black males had the highest sarcopenia incidence rates at younger ages, while Black females had lower rates.

Abstract

Sarcopenia, characterized by progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass and function, is a major contributor to disability and mortality in aging populations. Incidence rates at the oldest ages from recent studies are limited and needed to identify at-risk populations and inform interventions and policy. We estimated age-specific sarcopenia incidence by race and sex in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study. Sarcopenia was defined using Sarcopenia Definitions and Outcomes Consortium (SDOC) criteria: low grip strength (<35.5 kg for males, <20 kg for females) and slow gait speed (<0.8 m/s). Among 5,985 adults (mean age, 75.4 [SD, 5.1] years; 57.9% female; 21.9% Black) at baseline (visit 5, 2011–2013), 665 (11.1%) had prevalent sarcopenia with prevalence rising from 5.0% at age 65-69 to 36.0%at age 85-89 years. Incident cases were identified through visit 10 (2022–2023). Over 30,727 person-years (PY), 900 incident cases were identified (incidence rate [IR], 2.92 per 100 PY; 95% CI, 2.74–3.13). Incidence increased with age. Among participants aged 60–69 at baseline, IRs were highest in Black males (2.57; 95% CI, 1.55–4.27) and lowest in Black females (1.13; 95% CI, 0.64–1.99). By ages 80–89, all rates rose to approximately 5% a year except for Black females (2.87; 95% CI, 1.73–4.76). Targeted prevention and early interventions are needed to mitigate disparities and reduce sarcopenia-related disability in aging populations.