DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF BODY COMPOSITION MEASUREMENTS BY PORTABLE ULTRASONOGRAPHY AND CHARACTERIZATION OF SARCOPENIA IN BRAZILIAN ELDERLY

• Grant number: 21/01304-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): January 01, 2022
• Effective date (End): June 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Nutrition - Nutritional Analysis of Population
• Principal Investigator: Ligiana Pires Corona
• Grantee: Lara Vilar Fernandes
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Aplicadas (FCA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Limeira , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Introduction: Accurate assessment of body composition is fundamental for the development of early strategies in the context of pathologies associated with aging, such as sarcopenia. The techniques currently available for the evaluation of muscle mass are generally complex, more difficult to be implemented in clinical practice, with higher costs or have pre-examination protocols that can be confounding factors for the results. Therefore, the BodyMetrix® portable A-mode ultrasound, cost relatively lower than the methods referenced as gold standard, may be promising in the evaluation of the body composition of the elderly. Objective: To develop and validate equations to estimate appendicular muscle mass and body fat based on anthropometric measurements and portable ultrasonography in Brazilian elderly, having double energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) as the gold standard and characterize sarcopenia. Methods: Cross-sectional study, with a total sample of 270 individuals aged e 60 years living in the community, in the city of Campinas, SP; being 120 elderly for the validation and characterization study of sarcopenia and 150 for the replication of the equations developed. Sarcopenia will be characterized according to the algorithm of the second European consensus. The screening questionnaire of sarcopenia SARC-F will be applied; muscle strength tests will be performed to assess the probable sarcopenia, and the muscle mass will be evaluated to confirm the diagnosis of the pathology. Predicted results: It is expected that the equations developed through ultrasonography and anthropometric measurements are accurate, easy, fast and effective for the assessment of the body composition of the elderly, contributing to the early identification/diagnosis of sarcopenia in clinical practice.