Cruz-Jentoft, A. J. & Sayer, A. A. Sarcopenia. Lancet 393, 2636–2646 (2019). This is a state of the art seminar paper on sarcopenia with a clinical focus.

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Fielding, R. A. et al. Sarcopenia: an undiagnosed condition in older adults. Current consensus definition: prevalence, etiology, and consequences. International Working Group on Sarcopenia. J. Am. Med. Dir. Assoc. 12, 249–256 (2011). This is one of two substantive consensus definitions for sarcopenia developed and published almost simultaneously in 2010/2011 (see Cruz-Jentoft et al. (2010) for the other). This definition was developed by investigators in the USA under the leadership of the International Working Group on Sarcopenia (IWGS).

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Anker, S. D. et al. Welcome to the ICD-10 code for sarcopenia. J. Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle 7, 512–514 (2016).

Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Guralnik, J. M. et al. A short physical performance battery assessing lower extremity function: association with self-reported disability and prediction of mortality and nursing home admission. J. Gerontol. 49, M85–M94 (1994).

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Visser, M. & Schaap, L. A. Consequences of sarcopenia. Clin. Geriatr. Med. 27, 387–399 (2011).

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Zhang, X. et al. Sarcopenia as a predictor of all-cause mortality among older nursing home residents: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open. 8, e021252 (2018).

Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Cawthon, P. M. et al. Putative cut-points in sarcopenia components and incident adverse health outcomes: an SDOC analysis. J. Am. Geriatr. Soc. 68, 1429–1437 (2020).

Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Xu, J. et al. Sarcopenia is associated with mortality in adults: a systematic review and meta analysis. Gerontology 68, 361–376 (2022).

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Rosenberg, I. H. Summary comments. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 50, 1231–1233 (1989). This is widely believed to be the first publication to use the term ‘sarcopenia’.

Article  Google Scholar 

Evans, W. J. & Campbell, W. W. Sarcopenia and age-related changes in body composition and functional capacity. J. Nutr. 123, 465–468 (1993).

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Bijlsma, A. Y. et al. Chronology of age-related disease definitions: osteoporosis and sarcopenia. Ageing Res. Rev. 11, 320–324 (2012).

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Cawthon, P. M. Recent progress in sarcopenia research: a focus on operationalizing a definition of sarcopenia. Curr. Osteoporos. Rep. 16, 730–737 (2018).

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Coletta, G. & Phillips, S. M. An elusive consensus definition of sarcopenia impedes research and clinical treatment: a narrative review. Ageing Res. Rev. 86, 101883 (2023).

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Muscaritoli, M. et al. Consensus definition of sarcopenia, cachexia and pre-cachexia: joint document elaborated by Special Interest Groups (SIG) “cachexia-anorexia in chronic wasting diseases” and “nutrition in geriatrics”. Clin. Nutr. 29, 154–159 (2010). A paper by the Special Interest Group (SIG) of the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) that emphasized the need for a clear clinical definition of sarcopenia to enable the application of effective diagnostic and treatment approaches.

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Cruz-Jentoft, A. J. et al. Sarcopenia: European consensus on definition and diagnosis: report of the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People. Age Ageing 39, 412–423 (2010). This is one of two substantive consensus definitions for sarcopenia developed and published almost simultaneously in 2010/2011 (see Fielding et al. (2011) for the other). This definition was developed by investigators in Europe under the leadership of the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP).

Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Chen, L. K. et al. Sarcopenia in Asia: consensus report of the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia. J. Am. Med. Dir. Assoc. 15, 95–101 (2014).

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Studenski, S. A. et al. The FNIH sarcopenia project: rationale, study description, conference recommendations, and final estimates. J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. 69, 547–558 (2014).

Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Cruz-Jentoft, A. J. et al. Sarcopenia: revised European consensus on definition and diagnosis. Age Ageing 48, 16–31 (2019). This is an updated sarcopenia definition produced by the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People 2 (EWGSOP) that has replaced their earlier definition (Cruz-Jentoft et al. (2010)).

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Bhasin, S. et al. Sarcopenia definition: the position statements of the Sarcopenia Definition and Outcomes Consortium. J. Am. Geriatr. Soc. 68, 1410–1418 (2020). A paper outlining the position statements of the Sarcopenia Definitions and Outcomes Consortium (SDOC), which provides an evidence-based definition of sarcopenia.

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Chen, L. K. et al. Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia: 2019 Consensus update on sarcopenia diagnosis and treatment. J. Am. Med. Dir. Assoc. 21, 300–07.e2 (2020). This paper outlines a definition of sarcopenia proposed by the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS).

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Zanker, J. et al. Consensus guidelines for sarcopenia prevention, diagnosis and management in Australia and New Zealand. J. Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle 14, 142–156 (2023). This paper outlines consensus recommendations for sarcopenia developed by the Australian and New Zealand Society for Sarcopenia and Frailty Research (ANZSSFR) Sarcopenia Diagnosis and Management Task Force.

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Dodds, R. M. et al. Global variation in grip strength: a systematic review and meta-analysis of normative data. Age Ageing 45, 209–216 (2016).

Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Sayer, A. A. & Cruz-Jentoft, A. Sarcopenia definition, diagnosis and treatment: consensus is growing. Age Ageing 51, afac220 (2022).

Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Cawthon, P. M. et al. Defining terms commonly used in sarcopenia research: a glossary proposed by the Global Leadership in Sarcopenia (GLIS) Steering Committee. Eur. Geriatr. Med. 13, 1239–1244 (2022).

Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Kirk, B. et al. The conceptual definition of sarcopenia: Delphi consensus from the Global Leadership Initiative in Sarcopenia (GLIS). Age Ageing 53, afae052 (2024). This paper reports on the first global conceptual definition of sarcopenia that has been created by the Global Leadership Initiative in Sarcopenia (GLIS) using a Delphi consensus process.

Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Shafiee, G. et al. Prevalence of sarcopenia in the world: a systematic review and meta-analysis of general population studies. J. Diabetes Metab. Disord. 16, 21 (2017).

Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Mayhew, A. J. et al. The prevalence of sarcopenia in community-dwelling older adults, an exploration of differences between studies and within definitions: a systematic review and meta analyses. Age Ageing 48, 48–56 (2019).

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Carvalho do Nascimento, P. R., Bilodeau, M. & Poitras, S. How do we define and measure sarcopenia? A meta-analysis of observational studies. Age Ageing 50, 1906–1913 (2021).

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Petermann-Rocha, F. et al. Global prevalence of sarcopenia and severe sarcopenia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J. Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle 13, 86–99 (2022).

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Mballa Yene, B. V. et al. Prevalence of sarcopenia in Africa: a systematic review. Clin. Interv. Aging 18, 1021–1035 (2023).

Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Yuan, S. & Larsson, S. C. Epidemiology of sarcopenia: prevalence, risk factors, and consequences. Metabolism 144, 155533 (2023). This is a comprehensive review that summarizes evidence from 130 studies that have examined the risk factors and consequences of sarcopenia.

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Yang, L., Smith, L. & Hamer, M. Gender-specific risk factors for incident sarcopenia: 8-year follow up of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. J. Epidemiol. Community Health 73, 86–88 (2019).

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Sallfeldt, E. S. et al. Sarcopenia prevalence and incidence in older men – a MrOs Sweden study. Geriatr. Nurs. 50, 102–108 (2023).

Article  PubMed