Background: Functional sarcopenia, a subcategory of sarcopenia, has recently been introduced. It is defined by muscle weakness and reduced physical performance, regardless of muscle mass reduction, and may potentially affect overall rehabilitation outcomes in patients. Objectives: This study aimed to classify stroke patients into two groups based on the presence or absence of functional sarcopenia and to compare changes in balance and gait ability after receiving the same rehabilitation intervention. Design: A quasi-experimental design. Methods: A total of 44 stroke patients participated in this study and were classified into functional sarcopenia (n=22) and non-functional sarcopenia groups. Physical function tests were used to assess balance (Timed Up and Go, Berg Balance Scale) and gait (10-Meter Walk Test, Functional Ambulation Category). All participants underwent a four-week convalescent rehabilitation program, receiving five sessions per week, with each session lasting four hours per day. Results: After four weeks of convalescent rehabilitation, both groups showed significant improvements in all outcome measures (P<.05). However, when comparing the pre-post changes, no significant differences were found between the two groups in the changes of balance and gait outcomes (P>.05). Conclusion: These findings suggest that stroke patients with functional sarcopenia can achieve a similar level of functional recovery as those without functional sarcopenia when provided with appropriate rehabilitation interventions.

Background: Early diagnosis and intervention of sarcopenia require awareness among health care professionals. However, there is currently no sarcopenia survey specifically targeting Korean physical therapists, and there is a lack of tools available for conducting such research. Cognitive interviewing (CI) is widely recommended as a pre-test method to refine and enhance questionnaire items before initiating a survey, ensuring that the questions are wellsuited to the research objectives. Objectives: This study aimed to revise and review the items of a sarcopenia questionnaire for administration to Korean physical therapists using CI. Design: Qualitative research. Methods: Six physical therapists participated in interviews to review and develop survey questions related to sarcopenia. The questions were evaluated based on their clarity, the comprehensibility of the terms used, the confidence with which respondents could recall relevant information, the appropriateness of the difficulty level, and suggestions for improving the questionnaire. Results: Participants encountered issues such as difficulty understanding the questions, unclear or incorrect answer options, and unfamiliar terminology. Conclusion: The sarcopenia questionnaire was revised and improved through CI. Additionally, the study identified specific areas where physical therapists may struggle with sarcopenia-related content, including terminology and knowledge gaps.

Background: Sarcopenia, characterized by a decrease in physical performance, muscle mass, and strength, is a common complication in patients with stroke, significantly impacting their rehabilitation and quality of life. Objectives: This study aimed to analyze the clinical characteristics associated with sarcopenia in patients with stroke and to identify factors that influence its occurrence. Design: A cross-sectional study. Methods: Data were collected using electronic medical records and assessments, including Korean version of mini-mental state examination (MMSE-K), manual muscle testing, berg balance scale (BBS), functional ambulation category (FAC), and modified barthel index. Sarcopenia was diagnosed based on the Asian working group for sarcopenia 2019 guidelines. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, independent t-tests, and logistic regression analyses were used. Results: Of the 82 patients with stroke included in this study, 46 were found to have sarcopenia. Sarcopenic patients had significantly lower body weight, cognitive function (MMSE-K), balance (BBS), walking ability (FAC), and daily living activities (MBI) scores compared to non-sarcopenic patients (P<.05). Logistic regression identified body weight (OR=.852, P=<.001) and cognitive function (OR=.897, P=.035) as significant predictors of sarcopenia. Conclusion: Body weight and cognitive function are crucial in predicting sarcopenia in patients with stroke. These findings suggest the importance of managing body weight and cognitive function to prevent sarcopenia and improve rehabilitation outcomes.

Background: Sarcopenia refers to a decrease in functional ability due to the loss of skeletal muscle. Sarcopenia can be prevented, delayed, and treated more effectively the sooner the intervention, and muscle mass and strength can be effectively increased through physical exercise and adequate protein intake. Because symptoms of sarcopenia do not appear in the early stages, awareness among healthcare professionals is essential for early diagnosis and subsequent intervention. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to develop sarcopenia questionnaire items and investigate additional factors in Korean clinical practice. Design: Qualitative research. Methods: A qualitative survey was conducted targeting eight physical therapists affiliated with the sarcopenia associations or physical therapists with extensive clinical experience. A preliminary sarcopenia questionnaire and a qualitative survey questionnaire created by the researchers were sent to the participants together. All questions were open-ended. Results: Through a qualitative survey, themes were derived, including barriers to equipment and healthcare reimbursement, the need for awareness of sarcopenia, and improvement of survey questions. Conclusion: The diagnosis and treatment of sarcopenia requires efforts not only from physical therapists, but also from patients, government, and professional societies.

평균연령의 증가에 따른 인구고령화는 현대사회의 공통적 당면과제이며, 이에 따른 퇴행성 근감소증의 발생 및 증가는 이에 대한 새로운 해결책을 요구한다. 근감소증은 단백질의 불균형 및 운동부족, 염증 증가 등 다양한 요소에 의해 발생하므로, 과학적 원인분석을 통한 다각도적 접근이 필요하다. 이는 식품산업의 새로운 블루오션을 창조 할 수 있으나, 현재 국내의 근감소증 개선 식품성분에 관한 연구는 태동 단계라고 할 수 있다. 제품 개발 현황의 경우 단백질을 이용한 제품이 대다수인 반면, 미국의 경우 단백질 유래 원료뿐만 아니라 현미, 갈조류, 사과껍질 등 식물 유래 원료를 이용하여 다양한 제품을 출시하고 있다. 또한, 근감소증 개선 효과가 있는 원료에 대한 특허 출원 은 증가하는 추세지만, 지표성분에 대한 연구는 아직 미비하다. 국내와 비교했을 때 미국을 비롯한 국외 학계 및 산업계는 비교적 많은 연구와 개발을 이루고 있다. 하지만 제품의 소재가 주로 대두단백 및 유청단백 등에만 국한되어 있으며, 운동보조제 위주의 접근으로 인해 제형의 한계가 존재하는 상황이다. 따라서, 근감소증을 개선할 수 있는 다양한 과학적 기작 연구와 함께 소재개발을 통하여 식품 산업의 새로운 시장을 열어갈 선구적 연구가 필요하다.

Background: Muscle undergoes change continuously with aging. Sarcopenia, in which muscle mass decrease with aging, is associated with various diseases, the risk of falling, and the deterioration of quality of life. Obesity and sarcopenia also have a synergy effect on the disease of the older adults. Objects: This study examined the risk factors for sarcopenia, sarcopenic obesity, and sarcopenia without obesity and developed prediction models. Methods: This machine-learning study used the 2008–2011 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys in the analysis. After data curation, 5,563 older participants were selected, of whom 1,169 had sarcopenia, 538 had sarcopenic obesity, and 631 had sarcopenia without obesity; the remaining 4,394 were normal. Decision tree and random forest models were used to identify risk factors. Results: The risk factors for sarcopenia chosen by both methods were body mass index (BMI) and duration of moderate physical activity; those for sarcopenic obesity were sex, BMI, and duration of moderate physical activity; and those for sarcopenia without obesity were BMI and sex. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves of all prediction models exceeded 0.75. BMI could predict sarcopenia-related disease. Conclusion: Risk factors for sarcopenia-related diseases should be identified and programs for sarcopenia-related disease prevention should be developed. Data-mining research using population data should be conducted to enhance the effectiveness of early treatment for people with sarcopenia-related diseases through predictive models.

Diet is important for muscle health and offers a protective effects against the loss of skeletal muscle mass and physical functions with advancing age. We analyzed the relationship between diet, metabolic disease risk, and sarcopenia in Korean female adults using the 2009-2011 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). A total of 2038 adult women aged 50-64 years were classified into four groups based on the diagnosis of menopause and sarcopenia. The groups were the non-menopause and non-sarcopenia group (NMNS, n=249), the non-menopause and sarcopenia group (NMS, n=14), the menopause and non-sarcopenia group (MNS, n=1,653), and the menopause and sarcopenia group (MS, n=122). The socio-demographics, anthropometrics, blood profile, and dietary data of the subjects were collected. Those who were in both the sarcopenia groups were more obese (p<0.001), had greater waist circumferences (p<0.001), higher body mass index (p<0.001), and higher obesity rates (p<0.001) after adjustment for covariants. Both the sarcopenia groups also had higher plasma levels of total cholesterol (p<0.001), HbA1c (p=0.001), and vitamin D (p=0.020) than both the non-sarcopenia groups. Both the sarcopenia groups demonstrated a decreased intake of calcium (p=0.05), potassium (p=0.008), and niacin (p=0.008) than both the non-sarcopenia ones. Among the four groups, the NMS group showed the highest levels of total cholesterol, obesity, and lowest intake of micronutrients such as calcium, niacin, and potassium. Thus, muscle mass maintenance through weight control and adequate nutrient intake appears to demonstrate a potential association with preventing sarcopenia in Korean middle-aged women.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the level of obesity and sarcopenia among chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD) patients in Korea. The current study recruited 75 patients with COPD who visited the department of respiratory medicine at J University Hospital in J-do. Height, body weight, waist circumference, and hip circumference were measured, and body composition, muscle strength, and flexibility were assessed. The levels of obesity were classified with body mass index(BMI), waist-hip circumference ratio(WHR) and percent body fat, and sarcopenia was classified with the value of skeletal muscle mass and muscle strength by Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia. In results, it was found that the level of obesity was very high as 43% by BMI, 88% by WHR, and 64% by percent body fat. The lower level of muscle strength was 15.50% in males and 23.50% in females. The lower level of muscle mass was 24.10% in males and .00% in females. Males who had one sarcopenia factors were 22.40%, and females were 23.50%, respectively. Males with sarcopenia were 6.90%, and females were .00%. In conclusion, regular resistance exercise is essential not only for the development of motor skills, but also for the normalization of skeletal muscle function and prevention of muscle dystrophy among COPD patients.

이 연구의 목적은 노화 관련 근감소증과 노쇠함의 정의와 원인뿐만 아니라 규칙적인 운동과 올바른 영양을 통한 예방과 지연을 탐색하고자 한다. 근감소증과 쇠약함은 노화에 따른 근량과 근기능이 감소하여 쇠약함과 악액질, 골다공증, 대사적 증후군과 조기 사망을 일으키는 것으로 알려져 있다. 두 질환은 활성화 산소로 알려진 산화적 스트레스 양의 증가에 따른 근육 내부에서의 신경계 손상과 단백질 합성 부족, 부적절한 영양 및 신체활동의 부족 등과 관련성이 있었다. 그러한 증후군을 예방하고 개선하기 위한 올바른 영양과 신체활동(유산소운동, 저항운동 등)의 역할과 중요성이 강조되고 있다. 결론적으로 노화와 관련한 근감소증과 노쇠함을 예방하고 극복하기 위한 가장 유익한 방법으로서 규칙적인 운동을 포함한 양질의 단백질 공급을 제안한다.

이 연구의 목적은 코어 저항 운동이 농업 여성노인들의 근감소증 지표에 미치는 영향을 보고자 하였다. 이 연구에 참여한 피검자는 65세 이상의 천안시 거주 농업 여성노인 15명과 통제군 여성 15명으로 하였다. 코어 운동군은 주 2회 60분간 코어 강화 운동을 실시하였고, 종속변인인 근감소증 지표로는 악력, 의자 앉았다 일어서기, 근육의 면적과 단기운동수행력으로 4m 보행, 2.44m 걷기 및 400m 걷기를 실시하였다. 코어 저항 운동 결과 의자 앉았다 일어서기의 유의한 개선을 보였으나 근단 면적에서는 집단 간에 유의한 차이를 보였다. 또한 단기운동수행 능력 중 4m 보행속도에서 유의한 상호 작용과 2.44m 왕복걷기와 400m 걷기에서는 유의한 개선을 보이는 것으로 나타났다. 이상과 같이 코어 저항 운동은 근육의 활성화로 인해 하체근육 및 단기 운동수행능력을 개선을 가져오는 것으로 판명되었다.