German Version of SARC-F: Translation, Adaption, and Validation

Abstract Objectives Translation, adaptation, and validation of the German version of the SARC-F for community-dwelling older adults in Germany. Design Cross-sectional. Setting and Participants 117 community-dwelling outpatients with a mean age of 79.1 ± 5.2 years were included in the study; 94 (80.4%) of them were female. Sixty-three (53.8%) had a positive SARC-F score of ≥4 points. According to the definition of sarcopenia from the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP2), 8 patients (6.8%) were identified as sarcopenic and 57 (48.7%) as probable sarcopenic. Methods According to EWGSOP2, probable sarcopenia was defined for patients with reduced hand grip strength (women: 15 seconds). Patients with additional low skeletal muscle index were classified as sarcopenic (women: Results The translated and culturally adapted version of the SARC-F for the German language has shown excellent inter-rater reliability and good test-retest reliability. The internal consistency is acceptable. Sensitivity (63%) and specificity (47%) for sarcopenia is low. For detecting patients with probable sarcopenia, the SARC-F in the German version has shown 75% sensitivity and 67% specificity. Conclusions and Implications Because of a low sensitivity for detecting sarcopenia but an acceptable sensitivity for identifying probable sarcopenia, the German version of the SARC-F is a suitable tool for case finding of probable sarcopenia.