Assessment of Muscle Function and Physical Performance in Daily Clinical Practice: A position paper endorsed by the European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases (ESCEO)

Charlotte Beaudart, Yves Rolland, Alfonso J. Cruz-Jentoft, Jürgen M. Bauer, Cornel Sieber, Cyrus Cooper, Nasser Al-Daghri, Islene Araujo de Carvalho, Ivan Bautmans, Roberto Bernabei, Olivier Bruyère*, Matteo Cesari, Antonio Cherubini, Bess Dawson-Hughes, John A. Kanis, Jean Marc Kaufman, Francesco Landi, Stefania Maggi, Eugene McCloskey, Jean PetermansLeocadio Rodriguez Mañas, Jean Yves Reginster, Regina Roller-Wirnsberger, Laura A. Schaap, Daniel Uebelhart, René Rizzoli, Roger A. Fielding

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalReview articleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

It is well recognized that poor muscle function and poor physical performance are strong predictors of clinically relevant adverse events in older people. Given the large number of approaches to measure muscle function and physical performance, clinicians often struggle to choose a tool that is appropriate and validated for the population of older people they deal with. In this paper, an overview of different methods available and applicable in clinical settings is proposed. This paper is based on literature reviews performed by members of the European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis (ESCEO) working group on frailty and sarcopenia. Face-to-face meetings were organized afterwards where the whole group could amend and discuss the recommendations further. Several characteristics should be considered when choosing a tool: (1) purpose of the assessment (intervention, screening, diagnosis); (2) patient characteristics (population, settings, functional ability, etc.); (3) psychometric properties of the tool (test–retest reliability, inter-rater reliability, responsiveness, floor and ceiling effects, etc.); (4) applicability of the tool in clinical settings (overall cost, time required for the examination, level of training, equipment, patient acceptance, etc.); (5) prognostic reliability for relevant clinical outcomes. Based on these criteria and the available evidence, the expert group advises the use of grip strength to measure muscle strength and the use of 4-m gait speed or the Short Physical Performance Battery test to measure physical performance in daily practice. The tools proposed are relevant for the assessment of muscle weakness and physical performance. Subjects with low values should receive additional diagnostic workups to achieve a full diagnosis of the underlying condition responsible (sarcopenia, frailty or other).

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-14
Number of pages14
JournalCalcified Tissue International
Volume105
Issue number1
Early online date10 Apr 2019
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Jul 2019

Funding

Conflict of interest Whereas this paper reflects a collaboration between ESCEO and the WHO Collaborating Centre for Public Health Aspects of Musculoskeletal Health and Aging, in Liège, it cannot be seen as an official position of WHO as a global organization. Dr. Rolland reports grants from Biophytis, Novartis outside the submitted work. Dr. Juergen M. reports grants and personal fees from Nestlé, grants and personal fees from Danone Nutricia, personal fees from Pfizer, personal fees from Novartis, personal fees from Bayer, outside the submitted work. Dr. Sieber reports personal fees from Abbott, personal fees from Braun, personal fees from Danone, personal fees from Fresenius, personal fees from Nutricia, personal fees from AMGEN, personal fees from Berlin-Chemie, personal fees from MSD, personal fees from Novartis, personal fees from Roche, personal fees from Servier, personal fees from Vifor, personal fees from Nestle, outside the submitted work. Professor Cooper reports personal fees from Alliance for Better Bone Health, Amgen, Eli Lilly, GSK, Medtronic, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Servier, Takeda and UCB. Dr. Bruyère reports grants from Biophytis, IBSA, MEDA, Servier, SMB, Theramex, outside the submitted work. Dr. Cherubini reports personal fees from Nestle outside the submitted work. Dr. Kanis reports grants from Amgen, grants from Lilly, grants from Radius Health, grants from UCB, outside the submitted work. Dr. Maggi reports grants from GSK, grants from Merck, grants from Pfizer, grants from Takeda outside the submitted work. Dr. Rizzoli reports personal fees from Nestlé, Danone, TEVA/ Theramex, Radius Health, Sandoz, Effryx, Pfizer outside the submitted work. Dr. Fielding reports grants from National Institute of Health USA, during the conduct of the study; grants, personal fees and nonfinancial support from Axcella Health, grants and personal fees from Biophytis, grants and personal fees from Astellas, personal fees from Cytokinetics, personal fees from GSK, personal fees from Amazentis, personal fees from Nestle, outside the submitted work. Charlotte Beaudart, Nasser Al-Daghri, Islene Araujo de Carvalho, Ivan Bautmans, Roberto Bernabei, Matteo Cesari, Bess Dawson-Hughes, Jean-Marc Kaufman, Francesco Landi, Eugene McCloskey, Jean Peter-mans, Leocadio Rodriguez Mañas, Jean-Yves Reginster, Regina Roller-Wirnsberger, Laura A. Schaap, Daniel Uebelhart have nothing to disclose.

FundersFunder number
National Institutes of Health
Pfizer
Astellas Pharma US
Merck
UCB
Radius Health
Medical Research CouncilMR/P020941/1, MC_UP_A620_1014, MC_UU_12011/1

    Keywords

    • Daily practice
    • Muscle function
    • Muscle strenght
    • Physical performance
    • Sarcopenia

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