The purpose of a new study published in PLOS One was to screen Parkinsons disease (PD) patients for sarcopenia and fall risk, in order to investigate the associated demographic and clinical factors.

This was a cross-sectional study that evaluated 218 PD patients at the Movement Disorders Clinic in Fortaleza, Brazil, and collected clinical data including experiencing falls in the six months prior to their medical visit. Probable sarcopenia diagnosis was confirmed by using a sarcopenia screening tool (SARC-F questionnaire) and the presence of low muscle strength.

Overall, 121 patients (55.5%) were positive for sarcopenia, according to the SARC-F and 103 (47.4%) met the criteria for probable sarcopenia. The findings revealed that the disease duration, modified Hoehn and Yahr stage, Schwab and England Activities of Daily Living Scale score, levodopa equivalent dose, probable sarcopenia and positive SARC-F screening were all associated with experiencing falls. Disease duration, lower quality of life and female gender were independently associated with sarcopenia. Meanwhile, experiencing falls was significantly more frequent among patients screened positive in the SARC-F compared to those screened negative.

The results indicated that sarcopenia and PD share common pathways and may affect each others prognosis and patients quality of life. It was stated that since sarcopenia is associated with lower quality of life and increased risk of falls, active case finding, diagnosis and proper management of sarcopenia in PD patients is necessary.

Source: PLOS One. 2020 Mar 19;15(3):e0227238. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0227238.