[The prevalence of sarcopenic obesity in postmenopausal women in depending on the used methodology - preliminary study].

UNLABELLED: Postmenopausal period brings changes in body composition. Among the major alterations the tendency to decrease in fat free mass (FFM) and increase in the amount of fat mass (FM) are observed. Simultaneously loss of muscle mass and decline in muscle strength with the advancing age are observed. Coexistence of sarcopenia and obesity creates a new category of obesity - sarcopenic obesity (SO), which may cause numerous negative consequences. Therefore, clinicians attention should be drawn to this issue. Unfortunately clear criteria to its identification are lacking.

AIM: The aim of the present investigation was to determine the prevalence of sarcopenic obesity in postmenopausal women in depending on different definition.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty two postmenopausal women (Group 1) and thirty one young, healthy women (Group 2) participated in the study. Within Group 1 SO was identified, while Group 2 was used for defining to cut-off points. All participants underwent body composition analysis by bioelectrical impedance. Additionally height, body weight and hand grip strength were measured. Sarcopenic obesity was defined by the combination of obesity and sarcopenia.

RESULTS: Using different criteria for SO identification diversified study results in the prevalence of SO were observed (21.87 to 84.37%). The highest percentage of SO persons was observed while using the Skeletal Mass Index (SMI) derived cut off score, with fat mass (FM%), the most inclusive. In contrast, the lowest number of sarcopenic obese cases were observed when FFMI based on own group cut-off point was used and in the case of using MMI derived cut-off point defined for French population.

CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence of sarcopenic obesity varied, depending on the used criteria. Due to discrepancies between the criteria of sarcopenic obesity identification, standardization of definition and muscle mass predictive equations are required. Development of reference values for Polish population should be undertaken.