• Patricia Parreira Batista, PerraciniMonica RodriguesMR0000-0001-9331-3820PT, PhD. Professor, Master's and Doctoral Programs in Physical Therapy, Universidade Cidade de São Paulo (UNICID), São Paulo (SP), Brazil; Master's and Doctoral Programs in Gerontology, Faculty of Medical Scie, Juleimar Soares Coelho de Amorim, Maria do Carmo Correia de Lima, Camila Astolphi Lima, Daniele Sirineu Pereira, Renata Gonçalves Dantas, Etiene Oliveira da Silva Fittipaldi, Aurélio Dias Santos, Hércules Lázaro Morais Campos, and PereiraLeani Souza MáximoLSM0000-0001-7253-4392PT, PhD. Professor, Postgraduate Program in Rehabilitation Sciences, Department of Physiotherapy, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte (MG), Brazil..
• PT, MSc. Doctoral Student Postgraduate Program in Rehabilitation Sciences, Department of Physiotherapy, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte (MG), Brazil.
• Sao Paulo Med J. 2022 Jan 1; 141 (4): e2022159e2022159.

BackgroundSocial distancing has led to lifestyle changes among older adults during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.ObjectivesThis study aimed to estimate the prevalence risk of sarcopenia (RS) and investigate its associated factors during the COVID-19 pandemic in older Brazilian adults.Design And SettingCross-sectional observational analysis of baseline data as part of the Remobilize Study.MethodsParticipants in the study were older adults (≥ 60 years), excluding those who were bedridden or institutionalized. The data collected consisted of answers about the RS (SARC-F), functional status, walking, sedentary behavior (SB), pain, comorbidity, and life space mobility.ResultsA total of 1,482 older adults (70 ± 8.14 years, 74% women) participated in the study, and an RS prevalence of 17.1% was found. (95% confidence interval [CI] 15.25-19.15%). The adjusted multivariate model showed a significant association between RS and functional limitation (odds ratio [OR]: 19.05; CI 13.00-28.32), comorbidity (OR: 5.11; CI 3.44-7.81), pain (OR: 4.56; CI 3.33-6.28), total walking (OR: 0.99; CI 0.99-1.00), SB of 8-10 hours (OR: 1.85; CI 1.15-2.93), and SB of > 10 hours (OR: 3.93; CI 2.48-6.22). RS was associated with mobility during the pandemic (OR: 0.97; CI 0.96-0.98). P < 0.05.ConclusionsDuring the pandemic, the prevalence of RS in older Brazilians was estimated at 17.1%. Moderate to severe functional limitation, comorbidities, presence of pain, walking, longer SB period, and reduced life space mobility significantly contributed to RS in older adults during the pandemic.

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