Prevalence and Pathophysiology of Sarcopenia in the Elderly Patient With Hip Fracture

Overview

Sarcopenia is the loss of muscle mass and function that accompanies aging. The term sarcopenia comes from the Greek "sarx" (flesh) and "penia" (loss). Sarcopenia is a topic of great interest to geriatricians, and from 2010 discussing the possibility of considering it as a geriatric syndrome. Diagnostic criteria are reduced muscle mass, reduced strength and impaired physical performance. The presence of muscle mass reduction set presarcopenia diagnosis, when combined with one of the other two are talking about sarcopenia and when are the three is defined as severe sarcopenia. The hypothesis of our study is that sarcopenia is highly prevalent in older people with hip fracture. The increase in inflammatory indices of older people, along with bed rest, represent factors that accelerate the development of sarcopenia. These factors together could be the base of the high percentage of patients who do not recover the degree of autonomy before the fracture.

The incidence of hip fracture in Spain is estimated at 551 cases per 100,000 population aged 65 years, with an average cost of treatment for a broken € 9,996.00 and more days of hospitalization than heart attacks. In-hospital mortality is 5.3%. Data from a multicenter study in 77 hospitals of the Spanish territory in 2003 coincide with those of studies conducted in other European countries regarding the incidence, the highest percentage in women and increased exponentially with age. The fracture of the proximal femur (hip) is a substantial cause of morbidity and mortality in the elderly. Mortality at one year after hip fracture varies between 12 and 37%, with an incidence of 11% during the first months. 25% of elderly patients with hip fracture requires institutionalization, at least temporarily, and only 40% fully recover their functional status before the fracture. Hip fracture is a major public health problem. It happens more often in the elderly, the average age of patients admitted is 81.4 ± 8.1 years and its incidence has increased significantly in recent years. It causes a high degree of disability, mortality and frequent large economic costs. 50% of patients independent before a hip fracture are unable to recover fully the functionality, face and often the inability to institutionalization. Only 30-35% of elderly hip fractures regain their previous degree of independence in basic activities of daily living, and only 20-25% do so for instrumental activities. The investigators hope to find a high prevalence of sarcopenia in patients admitted with hip fracture, and patients with more severe sarcopenia are those having lower functional levels at admission and discharge phenomenon recover. The investigators hope to find a relationship between elevated inflammatory indices and severity of sarcopenia. The investigators hope that the presence of sarcopenia, and its severity, correlates positively with the occurrence of complications during hospitalization.