Screening on the Paretic Side is Superior for Detecting Possible Sarcopenia in Individuals After Chronic Stroke: Preliminary Findings

The onset of stroke can lead to structural muscle changes, such as stroke-related sarcopenia. The screening of sarcopenia can be accomplished by the SARC-CalF questionnaire, which includes the measurement of calf circumference. However, there is a lack of evidence on whether calf circumference should be assessed in the paretic or non-paretic limb. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the difference between sarcopenia screening on the paretic and non-paretic sides in individuals after chronic stroke. Cross-sectional study that included individuals after chronic stroke. Sarcopenia was assessed by the SARC-CalF instrument. The calf circumference measurement was performed in both limbs. The Pearson chi-square analysis was used to determine whether the observed frequencies differed from the expected frequencies. Sixty-two individuals after stroke were included. The average calf circumference value differed from 1 cm between the paretic limb to the non-paretic limb. In the paretic limb, 31% of the sample was screened as sarcopenic and only 18% in the non-paretic limb, with a statistically significant difference (χ 2 = 31.2; p < 0.001) The results of this study highlight the importance of sarcopenia screening on the paretic side in individuals after stroke to identify a larger number of individuals with probable stroke-related sarcopenia.