Introduction:

Sarcopenia is defined as a progressive and generalized skeletal muscle disorder that is associated with a greater likelihood of health complications, including falls, fractures, physical disability, and mortality. Sarcopenia, which was previously described as a condition inherent to age, has different recognized causal factors and affects many individuals regardless of age. Due to its importance and consequences, sarcopenia is currently recognized as a pathological condition and has a code in the international classification of diseases (ICD 10 - M62.84).

Purpose:

To present a literature review on the causal factors, epidemiology, and methods of diagnosis of sarcopenia currently employed.

Data sources:

MEDLINE/PubMed, Embase, and SciELO (initial research) and references of selected papers from the primary research.

Review methods:

A combination of the following terms was used: sarcopenia, diagnosis, operational definition, prevalence, consequences. Original papers, review papers, clinical guidelines, and consensus in English and Portuguese published between 1989 (the year of the proposition of the term sarcopenia) until May 2020 were considered.

Results:

The main references selected were papers related to the sarcopenia definition. We also selected papers related to tests and assessments used for the diagnosis of sarcopenia, and papers describing the prevalence of sarcopenia in different populations.

Conclusions:

Considering the historical evolution of sarcopenia diagnosis, it is notorious the attempt to bring scientific knowledge closer to clinical practice with the suggestion of methods and cutoff points that facilitate the immediate identification of sarcopenia. However, there are many different propositions and operational definitions of sarcopenia making it difficult to determine its actual prevalence. Despite recent developments in the understanding of sarcopenia, a definitive operational definition and the best way to diagnose sarcopenia are still a matter of debate. Thus, we believe that the current operational definition is not definitive and can undergo considerable changes as knowledge about this field advances.

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