Prevalence and associated factors of sarcopenia among older adults living in institutions providing long-term care

Introduction: Earlier studies dealing with sarcopenia were conducted among community-living or hospitalized older adults; however, to date, study focusing on older adults living in institutions providing long-term care is lacking. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of sarcopenia and its associations with lifestyle and health factors among older people living in institutions providing long-term care. Method: Two hundred five individuals participated in the study. Sarcopenia was diagnosed based on muscle mass, muscle strength and functional performance. The independent variables were functional mobility, protein intake, smoking, current physical activity, and physical activity when middle-aged, multimorbidity, and falls in the previous year. Univariate models and a multivariate model were used to assess associations. Results: In total 73 participants had sarcopenia. Sarcopenia was associated with smoking, multimorbidity, physically active lifestyle when middle aged, and functional mobility. Conclusion: This study showed that lifestyle factors and health condition have important roles in the prevalence of sarcopenia.