Stefanos Tyrovolas, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Deu

Title: Aging and sarcopenia: evaluation, determinants and burden in the USA ABSTRACT: World population ageing patterns are changing, with older people (i.e. 65 years old and over) now being the fastest growing segment. As populations around the globe rapidly age, their health and well-being have become a growing public health concern. Muscle and fat mass, which are strongly related to the ageing process, change progressively with advanced age and are related to a variety of chronic diseases. Muscle loss, when accompanied with decrements in physical performance and/or muscle strength, is characterized as sarcopenia. Sarcopenic obesity is defined when sarcopenia coexists with excess fat. Scientific interest in sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity has increased, with sarcopenia recently characterized as a disease entity. In this talk, Stefanos Tyrovolas will briefly present the association between ageing and muscle preservation in the context of myopenia, sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity. In addition, he will introduce different sarcopenia evaluation methodologies (indirect and direct ones) and present preliminary findings of risk factors for sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity from the American Health and Retirement (HRS) study.