No validation studies evaluated this tool Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of this tool are unknown Limited clinical utility in screening older adults for sarcopenia due to the high proportion of subjects selected to further undergo muscle assessment
Age range limited to 65–85 years Adults with morbid obesity and significant disability were excluded from the derivation study Screening for only probability of low muscle mass
External validity is unknown Calf circumference is not currently a routine measurement in clinical practice and therefore may require training to measure this accurately
Uses 5 questions without requiring measurements involving cutoff values They have comparable specificity and predictive power for adverse outcomes when validated against criteria requiring measurements developed by consensus panels (American, European, and Asian). Rapid screening and cost-effective
Low sensitivity may miss out people who are sarcopenic but classified as “not sarcopenic” according to SARC-F questionnaire not currently used in clinical practice
Good discriminatory tool as a “rule-out” screening test Variables are already a routine clinical practice such as measurement of weight, height, and gender Can be used as screening tool in primary care setting
Not yet validated in care facility residents or hospital inpatients Not yet validated in non-Caucasian population.
EWGSOP: European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People; NPV: negative predictive value; SARC-F: slowness, assistance with walking, rising from chair, climbing stairs, and falls questionnaire; PE: prediction equation; PPV: positive predictive value.