The Mini Sarcopenia Risk Assessment (MSRA) Questionnaire score as a predictor of skeletal muscle mass loss

Background Previous studies showed a strong relationship between reduction of appendicular muscle mass and worsening disability; hence, accuracy in assessing muscle mass is considered a key feature for a sarcopenia screening tool. Aim The aim of the study was to evaluate if the 7 items of Mini Sarcopenia Risk Assessment (MSRA) questionnaire predict muscle mass loss in a population of community-dwelling elderly subjects over a 5.5-y follow-up. Methods The study included 159 subjects, 92 women and 67 men aged 71.5 +/- 2.2 years and with mean body mass index of 26.7 +/- 4.0 kg/m(2). Appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASMM) as measured with Dual-Energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), was obtained at baseline and after 2 and 5.5 years of follow-up where the skeletal muscle index (SMI) was calculated. Results A significant reduction of ASMM and SMI was observed at two and 5.5 years of follow-up, in both, men and women. Repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) found a significant time effect on ASMM for both subjects with MSRA > 30 and <= 30 (P < 0.01 and P < 0.001). The group x time interaction was significant (P < 0.001), after even considering separately subjects with normal muscle mass and low muscle mass at baseline (P < 0.05 and P = 0.005). Similar results were obtained for SMI. Considering only the subjects with normal SMI at baseline, subjects with MSRA questionnaire <= 30 showed 5.7 (95% CI 1.73-19.03) higher risk of exceeding the low muscle mass threshold. Conclusion In a population of community-dwelling elderly men and women, MSRA score of 30 is predictive of a steeper decline in ASMM and SMI and of a higher risk of exceeding the low muscle mass EWGSOP threshold.