Manual dexterity among older adults with and without sarcopenia

The impact of sarcopenia on Manual Dexterity (MD) among older adults residing in long-term care settings (LTCS) is understudied. Hence, the objective is to compare MD using the Purdue Pegboard Test (PPT) among older adults with and without sarcopenia. A cross-sectional study was conducted in seven LTCS, and older adults were selected per the criteria decided a priori. Sarcopenia was evaluated through muscle mass, muscle strength, and physical performance using the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS) 2019 criteria, and MD was assessed using PPT. Ninety-six older adults were included, with 83 identified as sarcopenic and 13 as non-sarcopenic. Sarcopenic participants exhibited significantly lower scores in PPT, ranging from 1.34 to 4.00 s across various sub-tasks, compared to non-sarcopenic participants. Sarcopenia significantly affects MD, with a decline of 12% to 33.9% in various dexterity tasks.