Diagnostic accuracy of SARC-F and SARC-CalF as sarcopenia screening instruments in rheumatoid arthritis according to European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People.
Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of SARC-F and SARC-CalF as screening tools for sarcopenia in patients with rheumatoid arthritis using the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People 2 algorithm as the reference standard. Method: A cross-sectional study was co...
| Published in: | Physiotherapy Theory & Practice Vol. 42; no. 9; pp. 1215 - 1225 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
| Format: | research tables/charts Journal Article |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Sep2026
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=196699186&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 196699186 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 09593985 BCJ jtl: Physiotherapy Theory & Practice issn: 09593985 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Sep2026 vid: 42 iid: 9 pid: 377 pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania artinfo: ui: 196699186 191555761 196699186 196699186 10.1080/09593985.2026.2627992 196699186 ppf: 1215 ppct: 10 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P tig: atl: Diagnostic accuracy of SARC-F and SARC-CalF as sarcopenia screening instruments in rheumatoid arthritis according to European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People. aug: au: Karapınar, Merve Uğurlu, Zübeyde Gür Hatip, Fatma Başkurt, Ferdi Şahin, Mehmet Doğru, Atalay affil: Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Suleyman Demirel University, Isparta, Turkiye sug: subj: Sarcopenia Diagnosis Arthritis, Rheumatoid Sensitivity and Specificity Diagnostic Tests, Routine Questionnaires Algorithms Turkiye Human Male Female Adult Middle Age Aged Aged, 80 and Over Cross Sectional Studies Academic Medical Centers Grip Strength Walking Speed Kruskal-Wallis Test Chi Square Test ROC Curve Odds Ratio Confidence Intervals Data Analysis Software Descriptive Statistics Predictive Value of Tests Muscle Strength Physical Performance Adult: 19-44 years Middle Aged: 45-64 years Aged: 65+ years Aged, 80 & over Male Female ab: Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of SARC-F and SARC-CalF as screening tools for sarcopenia in patients with rheumatoid arthritis using the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People 2 algorithm as the reference standard. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 106 patients with rheumatoid arthritis diagnosed according to the 2010 ACR/EULAR criteria. Sarcopenia was assessed through handgrip strength, appendicular skeletal muscle mass (via bioelectrical impedance analysis), and gait speed, following the EWGSOP2 "Find – Assess – Confirm – Severity" (F-A-C-S) model. The diagnostic performance of SARC-F and SARC-CalF was evaluated using sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values (PPV, NPV), and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results: Among the participants, 43.3% had probable sarcopenia (low muscle strength), 15% had confirmed sarcopenia (low muscle strength plus low muscle mass), and 11.3% had severe sarcopenia (low strength, low mass, and poor physical performance), according to EWGSOP2 criteria. SARC-F showed high sensitivity (86.2%) and NPV (91.3%) for probable sarcopenia but had low specificity (54.5%) and poor discrimination for confirmed (AUC: 0.43) and severe (AUC: 0.44) cases. In contrast, SARC-CalF demonstrated improved specificity (90.7%) and better AUC (0.63) for confirmed sarcopenia, although sensitivity remained low (32.3%). Both tools showed limited performance in detecting severe sarcopenia. Conclusion: SARC-F, with its high sensitivity, can serve as a first-line physiotherapy screening tool to identify patients with rheumatoid arthritis at risk of sarcopenia, enabling timely referral for muscle-strengthening interventions. SARC-CalF offers greater specificity for confirmed cases and supports individualized exercise planning. As neither tool alone detects severe sarcopenia, a two-step approach combining both questionnaires with confirmatory assessments is recommended to enhance early detection and optimize functional outcomes in physiotherapy practice. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Unknown language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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