A Scoping Review of Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Assessment of Sarcopenia

Review of Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Assessment of Sarcopenia

Abstract

Background: Sarcopenia refers to the progressive loss of muscle mass. The adverse health effects of sarcopenia include body weakness, falls, and dependency. To reduce the complications of sarcopenia, comprehensive assessments are required for early detection and accurate diagnosis. Hence, this review aimed to synthesise clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for sarcopenia and determine the key recommendations on instruments used for screening and diagnostic assessment. Methods: An extensive search was performed through the scientific electronic databases, namely Scopus, ScienceDirect, Cochrane and ProQuest Medical and Health. In addition, a grey literature search was conducted through Google Scholar to optimise the search and reduce the risk of missing CPGs. The literature search included a time frame ranging from 2016 to 2025. The CPGs were selected based on predetermined criteria. Due to the nature of the review, the findings were reported in narrative format. The protocol of this review was officially filed with the Open Science Framework. Results: Out of 1291 records, 8 records were included in the review for further analysis. The identified CPGs were from multiple countries, involving participation of health experts across various disciplines. Overall,  the CPGs are consistent in emphasising the utilisation of SARC-F as a screening tool and assessments of muscle mass, strength, and physical function for the diagnosis and severity of sarcopenia. Conclusion: Screening questions can be used as a first step for screening sarcopenia and should be complemented with objective-based measures for accurate detection. The findings of this review allow clinicians and researchers to streamline the process of screening and diagnosing sarcopenia.