Defining terms commonly used in sarcopenia research: a glossary proposed by the Global Leadership in Sarcopenia (GLIS) Steering Committee

Peggy M Cawthon^{1

2}, Marjolein Visser^{3

4}, Hidenori Arai⁵, José A Ávila-Funes⁶, Rocco Barazzoni⁷, Shalender Bhasin⁸, Ellen Binder^{9

10}, Olivier Bruyère¹¹, Tommy Cederholm^{12

13}, Liang-Kung Chen^{14

15

16}, Cyrus Cooper^{17

18}, Gustavo Duque^{19

20}, Roger A Fielding²¹, Jack Guralnik²², Douglas P Kiel²³, Ben Kirk^{24

25}, Francesco Landi²⁶, Avan A Sayer²⁷, Stephan Von Haehling^{28

29}, Jean Woo^{30

31}, Alfonso J Cruz-Jentoft³²

Affiliations

¹ California Pacific Medical Center, Research Institute, 550 16th Street, Second Floor, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA.
² Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
³ Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. m.visser@vu.nl.
⁴ The Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. m.visser@vu.nl.
⁵ National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Obu, Aichi, Japan.
⁶ Department of Geriatrics, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Mexico City, Mexico.
⁷ Department of Medical, Surgical and Health Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy.
⁸ Bostin Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
⁹ Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis, MO, USA.
¹⁰ Division of Geriatrics and Nutritional Science, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
¹¹ Division Public Health, Epidemiology and Health Economics, World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Public Health Aspects of Musculoskeletal Health and Aging, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium.
¹² Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
¹³ Theme Inflammation and Ageing, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
¹⁴ Center for Healthy Longevity and Aging Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan.
¹⁵ Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Taipei Veterans Generfranal Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
¹⁶ Taipei Municipal Gan-Dau Hospital (Managed by Taipei Veterans General Hospital), Taipei, Taiwan.
¹⁷ MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
¹⁸ Department of Epidemiology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX, UK.
¹⁹ Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada.
²⁰ Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
²¹ Nutrition Exercise, Physiology, and Sarcopenia Laboratory, Jean Mayer U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging, Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA.
²² Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
²³ Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, Hebrew SeniorLife, Department of Medicine Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
²⁴ Australian Institute for Musculoskeletal Science (AIMSS), The University of Melbourne and Western Health, St. Albans, VIC, Australia.
²⁵ Department of Medicine-Western Health, The University of Melbourne, St. Albans, VIC, Australia.
²⁶ Fondazione Policlinico Universitario "Agostino Gemelli" IRCCS, 00168, Rome, Italy.
²⁷ AGE Research Group, NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre, Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK.
²⁸ Department of Cardiology and Pneumology, University Medicine Göttingen (UMG), Göttingen, Germany.
²⁹ German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
³⁰ Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
³¹ Faculty of Medicine, Centre for Nutritional Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
³² Servicio de Geriatría, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal (IRYCIS), Madrid, Spain.

PMID: 36445639
PMCID: PMC9722886
DOI: 10.1007/s41999-022-00706-5

Defining terms commonly used in sarcopenia research: a glossary proposed by the Global Leadership in Sarcopenia (GLIS) Steering Committee

Peggy M Cawthon et al. Eur Geriatr Med. 2022 Dec.

. 2022 Dec;13(6):1239-1244.

doi: 10.1007/s41999-022-00706-5. Epub 2022 Nov 29.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ California Pacific Medical Center, Research Institute, 550 16th Street, Second Floor, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA.
² Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
³ Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. m.visser@vu.nl.
⁴ The Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. m.visser@vu.nl.
⁵ National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Obu, Aichi, Japan.
⁶ Department of Geriatrics, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Mexico City, Mexico.
⁷ Department of Medical, Surgical and Health Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy.
⁸ Bostin Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
⁹ Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis, MO, USA.
¹⁰ Division of Geriatrics and Nutritional Science, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
¹¹ Division Public Health, Epidemiology and Health Economics, World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Public Health Aspects of Musculoskeletal Health and Aging, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium.
¹² Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
¹³ Theme Inflammation and Ageing, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
¹⁴ Center for Healthy Longevity and Aging Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan.
¹⁵ Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Taipei Veterans Generfranal Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
¹⁶ Taipei Municipal Gan-Dau Hospital (Managed by Taipei Veterans General Hospital), Taipei, Taiwan.
¹⁷ MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
¹⁸ Department of Epidemiology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX, UK.
¹⁹ Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada.
²⁰ Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
²¹ Nutrition Exercise, Physiology, and Sarcopenia Laboratory, Jean Mayer U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging, Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA.
²² Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
²³ Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, Hebrew SeniorLife, Department of Medicine Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
²⁴ Australian Institute for Musculoskeletal Science (AIMSS), The University of Melbourne and Western Health, St. Albans, VIC, Australia.
²⁵ Department of Medicine-Western Health, The University of Melbourne, St. Albans, VIC, Australia.
²⁶ Fondazione Policlinico Universitario "Agostino Gemelli" IRCCS, 00168, Rome, Italy.
²⁷ AGE Research Group, NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre, Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK.
²⁸ Department of Cardiology and Pneumology, University Medicine Göttingen (UMG), Göttingen, Germany.
²⁹ German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
³⁰ Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
³¹ Faculty of Medicine, Centre for Nutritional Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
³² Servicio de Geriatría, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal (IRYCIS), Madrid, Spain.

PMID: 36445639
PMCID: PMC9722886
DOI: 10.1007/s41999-022-00706-5

Abstract

Methods: The aim of this paper is to define terms commonly related to sarcopenia to enable standardization of these terms in research and clinical settings. The Global Leadership Initiative in Sarcopenia (GLIS) aims to bring together leading investigators in sarcopenia research to develop a single definition that can be utilized worldwide; work on a global definition of sarcopenia is ongoing. The first step of GLIS is to develop the common terminology, or a glossary, that will facilitate agreement on a global definition of sarcopenia as well as interpretation of clinical and research findings.

Results: Several terms that are commonly used in sarcopenia research are defined, including self-reported measures of function and ability; objective physical performance tests; and measures related to muscle function and size.

Conclusion: As new methods and technologies are developed, these definitions may be expanded or refined over time. Our goal is to promote this common language to describe sarcopenia and its components in clinical and research settings in order to increase clinical awareness and research interest in this important condition. We hope that the use of common terminology in sarcopenia research will increase understanding of the concept and improve communication around this important age-related condition.

Keywords: GLIS; Sarcopenia; Standardization; Terminology.

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Conflict of interest statement

Dr. Cruz-Jentoft reports obtaining research funding from AstraZeneca. Dr. Kirk reports consultancy/honorarium fees from the following companies/enterprises that work in the medical and/or musculoskeletal fields: Abbott Nutrition (UK); Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (USA); AusDoc (Australian Doctor). Dr. Kirk is also supported by a research grant from TSI Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Kiel reports royalties from publication Wolters Kluwer for chapters in UpToDate on Falls; scientific advisory boards for Pfizer, Solarea Bio, Reneo; grants from Amgen and Solarea Bio; Data Safety and Safety Monitoring Board for Agnovos. Dr. Landi reports consultancy and invited lecture to Abbott, Nutricia, ErreKappa, and Professional Dietetics. Dr. Duque reports paid consultancy for TSI, Abbott, and Nutricia. Dr. Bruyère reports to being a shareholder of SARQOL SRL. Dr. Cawthon reports being a consultant to BioAge Labs. Dr. Fielding reports to being a paid consultant for Pfizer, Nestle, Amazentis, Biophytis, Rejuvenate Biomed, Juvicell. Dr. Fielding reports to being on the advisory Board for Inside Tracker and Cytokinetics and reports to being a shareholder of Azcella Health. He has obtained research funding from Lonza. Dr. Bhasin reports consultancy fees from OPKO Health and Aditum Bio. He has obtained research funding from AbbVie and Metro International BioTech. Dr. Von Haehling reports being a paid consultant for and/or received honoraria payments from AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, BRAHMS, Chugai, Grünenthal, Helsinn, Hexal, Novartis, Pharmacosmos, Respicardia, Roche, Servier, Sorin, and Vifor. Dr. Cederholm reports providing paid lectures arranged by medical nutrition companies. Dr. Binder reports consulting income from Eisai, Inc. Drs. Sayer, Cooper, Arai, Guralnik, Woo, Ávila-Funes, Chen, Visser, Barazzoni report no current personal financial interests.

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Defining terms commonly used in sarcopenia research: a glossary proposed by the Global Leadership in Sarcopenia (GLIS) Steering Committee

Affiliations

Defining terms commonly used in sarcopenia research: a glossary proposed by the Global Leadership in Sarcopenia (GLIS) Steering Committee

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

References

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