Background. Aging is related to decreased muscle mass, strength, and function known as sarcopenia. Sarcopenia lead to various problems as increased morbidity, falls, institutionalization, disability, premature death, healthcare cost, and poor life quality. Result of population census in 2010 shows Indonesia as one of five country with highest older population in the world that reach to 18.1 million persons and currently there is no evidence of research on sarcopenia in Indonesia. Nutrition intake, exercise, and smoking are sarcopenia risk factors that can be controlled. The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between characteristic (age, gender, education), nutrition intake, exercise, smoking and sarcopenia in the elderly in Jakarta.
Methodology. This study is a descriptive analytic study using cross-sectional design. A total of 138 respondents in nursing homes in North and West Jakarta meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data collected by questionnaires, assessment of sarcopenia (Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis, handgrip, and a Timed Get Up and Go Test), and assessment of nutrition intake (using 24-hours Recall method) within two days to assess energy, carbohydrate, fat, and protein intake. Data analysis performed using chi-square test with a P value = 0.05.
Results. The result shows that there is a significant relationship between gender and sarcopenia, with a P value = 0.012. Nutrition intake is related significantly with sarcopenia, with P = 0.025 for energy, P = 0.014 for carbohydrate, P = 0.032 for fat, and P = 0.003 for protein. However, there is no significant relationship between exercise, smoking and sarcopenia.
Conclusion. Research on variable characteristics of respondents (age, gender, education), nutrition intake, exrcise, and smoking in conjunction with sarcopenia showed that only gender had a significant association with sarcopenia. Nutrition intake is determined to influence sarcopenia incident in the elderly. |