RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Population-derived cutoffs for low skeletal muscle mass, skeletal muscle strength, and frailty among Indians are lacking. Studies describing sarcopenia and frailty among patients with chronic liver diseases have used cutoffs derived from Caucasian populations giving erroneous results. AIMS: We aimed to derive gender-specific cutoffs for low skeletal muscle mass and skeletal muscle strength from healthy Indians. METHODS: Healthy Indian population consisted of two groups. Group 1 (Gp I) included 242 healthy liver donors and group 2 (Gp II) 272 healthy health care workers. Skeletal muscle index (SMI) was calculated from computed tomography (CT) abdomen performed prior to donor hepatectomy only in Gp I. Liver frailty index (LFI) was computed using the online calculator, after recording hand grip strength (HGS), chair stand-up test (CSUT), and balance test in both groups. HGS was measured using the Smedley handgrip dynamometer. CSUT was noted as time to complete 5 chair stand-ups with subjects' arms folded across the chest. Gender-specific cutoffs of SMI and HGS were derived as <5th percentile of the distribution values and as >95th percentile for CSUT and LFI values. RESULTS: The SMI was measured from Gp I subjects (n=242; 120 males [mean age 31.13] and 122 females [mean age 36.60]). The HGS, CSUT, and LFI were measured in Gp I and Gp II subjects (n=514; 272 males [mean age 34.30] and 242 females [mean age 37.52]). The cutoffs for SMI, HGS, CSUT, and LFI were <27.72 cm2/m2, <25.63 kg, >10 s, and >3.49, respectively for healthy males. The corresponding cutoffs for healthy females were <24.4 cm2/m2, <16.7 kg, > 10 s, and >3.68, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We derived gender-specific cutoffs for SMI, HGS, CSUT, and LFI from healthy adult Indian population, which can be used to detect sarcopenia and frailty among patients with liver diseases, as well as other conditions.
