Prevalence and risk factors associated with sarcopenia in elderly patients: a systematic review

Sarcopenia is a prevalent disease in the elderly population and is associated with numerous adverse clinical outcomes, directly influencing on the individual's quality of life. This systematic review describes the prevalence and risk factors associated with sarcopenia in elderly patients. The review was made from a search in the databases LILACS, SciELO, CINAHL, and PubMed. We included articles published in Portuguese, English, Spanish and French, of any period of time, consideringcross-sectional or longitudinal research method, which had included more than 50 elderly subjects,and could be found in full version; as well as made use of association measures based on ratio (Odds Ratio or Relative Risk).The search resulted in 669 articles, of which 49met the inclusion criteria. The studies dated from 2003 to 2018 and the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People was the most widely used assessment measure. Most of them were cross-sectional studies. The total sample consisted of 109,601 individuals, and the prevalence of sarcopenia ranged from 9.3% to 68.9%.In conclusion, the main risk factors for sarcopenia refer to aging (longevity), low body mass index, comorbidities, vitamin D deficiency, and low bone density, as well as falls.