What are the symptoms of sarcopenia?

There are a variety of symptoms associated with sarcopenia, including but not limited to:

  1. Muscle weakness1–3 – Reduced muscle strength is the most common symptom of sarcopenia that is likely a direct result from the decrease in muscle mass.

  2. Poor balance and coordination4,5 – People with sarcopenia have less muscle to help promote balance and coordination and therefore have an increased risk of injury, falls, fractures, and hospitalization.

  3. Fatigue from daily activity4 – Another common symptom that people with sarcopenia face is fatigue from performing everyday activities. For example, a person may find it challenging to perform basic tasks such as rising from a chair, going up a flight of stairs, and carrying or lifting items all due to the decline in muscle function.

  4. Decreased walking (gait) speed3–7 – People with sarcopenia display a noticeable reduction in gait speed and a decrease in stamina. 

  5. Changes in body composition5 – Sarcopenia can occur in individuals regardless of their body weight. In some cases, people who lose a significant amount of weight (unintentionally) may be rapidly losing both muscle mass and fat mass. In other cases, individuals may maintain their weight, but still experience decreased muscle mass that is replaced by increased fat mass. This can be compounded in individuals who gain a significant amount of weight as increased body weight is often associated with decreased activity, which further exacerbates muscle loss. In all three cases, there is measurable muscle loss.

  6. Decreased mobility4 – The overall loss in muscle size, tone, and function makes it difficult to move around without assistance.

Additional Resources

  1. Menant, J. C. et al. Strength measures are better than muscle mass measures in predicting health-related outcomes in older people: time to abandon the term sarcopenia? Osteoporos. Int. J. Establ. Result Coop. Eur. Found. Osteoporos. Natl. Osteoporos. Found. USA 28, 59–70 (2017).

  2. Evans, W. J. & Grimby, G. Muscle Performance and Structure in the Elderly as Studied Cross-sectionally and Longitudinally. J. Gerontol. Ser. A 50A, 17–22 (1995).

  3. Bhasin, S. et al. Sarcopenia Definition: The Position Statements of the Sarcopenia Definition and Outcomes Consortium. J. Am. Geriatr. Soc. 68, 1410–1418 (2020).

  4. Sarcopenia (Muscle Loss): Symptoms & Causes. Cleveland Clinic https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23167-sarcopenia.

  5. Cruz-Jentoft, A. J. et al. Sarcopenia: revised European consensus on definition and diagnosis. Age Ageing 48, 16–31 (2019).

  6. Dao, T. et al. Sarcopenia and Muscle Aging: A Brief Overview. Endocrinol. Metab. 35, 716–732 (2020).

  7. Dent, E. et al. International Clinical Practice Guidelines for Sarcopenia (ICFSR): Screening, Diagnosis and Management. J. Nutr. Health Aging 22, 1148–1161 (2018).