| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3323832 | European Geriatric Medicine | 2016 | 9 Pages |
ObjectiveTo explore the burden-of-illness of Dutch community-dwelling older adults with sarcopenia, in terms of disability in activities of daily living (ADL), quality of life (QoL) and costs from a societal perspective.MethodsThe Maastricht Sarcopenia Study (MaSS) was performed in adults ≥ 65 y, receiving (1) no care, (2) home care/assisted living facility, or (3) care in a residential living facility. Sarcopenia was defined according to the European Working Group on Sarcopenia algorithm. Disability in ADL was measured with the Groningen Activity Restriction Scale (GARS); QoL with the EQ-5D-5L. Subjects were questioned about their health care use and health-related costs (societal perspective). Data are presented for sarcopenic and (age and sex matched) non-sarcopenic subjects. Bootstrapping was performed to estimate 95%CI around the mean costs. Several subgroup (age, sex, living situation, comorbidities) and sensitivity analyses were performed.ResultsSarcopenic subjects (n = 53) scored significantly worse on health-related outcomes compared with non-sarcopenic subjects (n = 174; GARS 29 ± 11.3 vs. 22 ± 7.3, P < 0.001, QoL 0.78 ± 0.2 vs. 0.86 ± 0.2, P = 0.001). This difference was, except for the subscale ADL, no longer significant when compared with age and sex matched non-sarcopenic subjects (GARS 27 ± 10.6, P = 0.097, QoL 0.81 ± 0.2, P = 0.362). Mean health care costs of sarcopenic subjects (€4325, 95% CI: €3198–€5471) were significantly higher than those of non-sarcopenics (€1533, 95% CI: €1153–€1912), and higher, i.e. €1557 per three months (though not significant) compared with age and sex matched non-sarcopenics (€2768, 95% CI: €1914–€3743). Living situation (residential care) was a main driver of costs.ConclusionsCommunity-dwelling sarcopenic older adults had a higher health and economic burden than non-sarcopenic older adults. This was importantly driven by the living situation – keeping older adults independent and out of care-dependent settings may contribute to a reduction of health care costs.
