A cross-sectional study on sarcopenia using different methods: reference values for healthy Saudi young men

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to determine reference values for sarcopenia indices using different methods in healthy Saudi young men. METHODS Participants included 232 Saudi men aged between 20 and 35 years. The study measured anthropometric indices, blood pressure, hand grip strength, and lean muscle mass using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) was performed using Inbody 770 and Tanita 980 devices. RESULTS Using DXA, the mean value of appendicular lean mass divided by the height squared (ALM/ht2) was found to be 8.97 ± 1.23 kg/m2; hand grip strength measured 42.8 ± 7.6 kg. While the differences between DXA and BIA (Tanita) were significant for all parameters, the differences between DXA and Inbody values were significant only for ALM parameters. Inbody sensitivity and specificity values were 73% and 95.9%, respectively. The kappa (P = 0.80) and p values (P < 0.001) showed good agreement between Inbody and DXA, whereas Tanita sensitivity and specificity values were 54.2% and 98.3%, respectively. Bland-Altman plots for differences in lean mass values between Tanita, Inbody, and DXA methods showed very high bias for Tanita and DXA, with significant differences (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS The cut-off values for sarcopenia indices for Saudi young men are different from those of other ethnicities. The use of tailored cut-off reference values instead of a general cut-off for BIA devices is recommended.