Relevance of the five-repetition sit-to-stand test for diagnosing sarcopenia in elderly inpatients with cardiac disease

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the reference values for diagnosing sarcopenia using the five-repetition sit-to-stand test in elderly inpatients with cardiac disease. Methods: We studied 71 inpatients with cardiac disease ≥ 65 years of age (mean age 78.0±7.9 years, 42.3% women) who were ad-mitted between April 2015 and March 2016. Patients were assessed for sarcopenia, and we performed the five-repetition sit-to-stand test. We defined sarcopenia using the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia-suggested diagnostic algorithm. A logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of the relationship between sarcopenia and the five-repetition sit-to-stand test. A multivariate analysis showed that the age, admission diagnosis, the New York Heart Association classification, the Charlson comorbidity index, and the ratio of extracellular to total body water were relevant covariates. The cut-off value of the five-repetition sit-to-stand test to diagnose sarcopenia was determined using a receiver operating characteristic curve. Results: Sarcopenia was diagnosed in 25 patients (35.2%). A multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the fiverepetition sit-to-stand test was significantly associated with sarcopenia (p=0.024), and the OR (95% CI) was 1.31 (1.04-1.65). The cut-off value of the five-repetition sit-to-stand test to diagnose sarcopenia was 10.9 s (sensitivity 80.0%, specificity 70.0%, area under the curve 0.83). Conclusions: The five-repetition sit-to-stand test is a useful screening tool for sarcopenia in elderly inpatients with cardiac disease. The cut-off value to diagnose sarcopenia was 10.9 s in this study.