Risk of Sarcopenia Identified by Sarc-Calf, Nutritional Status and Hand Grip Strength in Patients with Hematological Cancer

Lorraine Pires Avancini; Laís Freitas da Costa; Mariana de Souza Vieira; Vanusa Felício de Souza; Rayne de Almeida Marques; Jose Luiz  Marques Rocha; Glenda Blaser Petarli; Valdete Regina Guandalini

doi:10.18502/ijhoscr.v18i2.15370

Lorraine Pires Avancini Department of Integrated Health Education, Federal University of Espirito Santo, Vitoria, Espirito Santo, Brazil
Laís Freitas da Costa University Hospital Cassiano Antonio Moraes, Vitoria, Espirito Santo, Brazil
Mariana de Souza Vieira Department of Integrated Health Education, Federal University of Espirito Santo, Vitoria, Espirito Santo, Brazil
Vanusa Felício de Souza Department of Integrated Health Education, Federal University of Espirito Santo, Vitoria, Espirito Santo, Brazil
Rayne de Almeida Marques Federal University of Espirito Santo, Vitoria, Espirito Santo, Brazil
Jose Luiz Marques Rocha Department of Integrated Health Education, Federal University of Espirito Santo, Vitoria, Espirito Santo, Brazil
Glenda Blaser Petarli University Hospital Cassiano Antonio Moraes, Vitoria, Espirito Santo, Brazil
Valdete Regina Guandalini Department of Integrated Health Education, Federal University of Espirito Santo, Vitoria, Espirito Santo, Brazil

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ijhoscr.v18i2.15370

Keywords: Nutritional status; Muscle strength; Nutritional risk; Sarcopenia

Abstract

Background: Hematological cancer patients are prone to the development of sarcopenia and impaired nutritional and functional status. SARC-CalF is a screening tool for the risk of sarcopenia that has shown good results in this population. This study aimed to identify the risk of sarcopenia by SARC-CalF and to verify its association with nutritional status and Hand Grip Strength (HGS) in patients with hematological cancer.

Materials and Methods: Adult patients, of both sexes, with hematological cancer, and in outpatient care participated in the study. We measured the Hand Grip Strength of the Dominant Hand (HGSD) and the Adductor Pollicis Muscle Thickness of the Dominant Hand (APMTD). Moreover, we applied the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA) and SARC-CalF. Data were analyzed with SPSS® software, 22.0, with a significance level of 5.0%.

Results: Fifty-one patients aged an average of 60.4 ± 15.1 years were evaluated. Of those, 58.8% were elderly, 51% female, and 80.4% declared themselves non-white. The predominant diagnosis was Mature B Lymphoid Cell Neoplasia (37.7%), and 60.8% of the patients had a diagnosis time of ≤ 3 years. PG-SGA revealed that 35.3% of the patients were malnourished; APMTD and HGSD revealed that 60.8% and 25.5% had reduced muscle strength, respectively. SARC-CalF exposed that 39.2% of the patients were at risk for sarcopenia. Significant associations were found between SARC-CalF and diagnosis time ≤ 3 years (p = 0.039), PG-SGA (p = 0.020), APMTD (p = 0.039) and HGSD (p = 0.002). After binary logistic regression adjusted for age and sex, the reduced HGSD remained associated with the risk of sarcopenia.

Conclusion: SARC-CalF identified a risk of sarcopenia in 39.2% of patients. The reduced HGSD was associated with the risk of sarcopenia.