sarcopenia epidemiology forecast

Key Highlights

• Sarcopenia is an age-related condition affecting approximately 15% of older people in the United States.
• Based on severity, mild to moderate cases accounted for the highest number of patients in the US in 2024.
• Based on the definitions of sarcopenia provided in the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) and the International Working Group on Sarcopenia (IWGS) criteria, 1–29% of community-dwelling people aged ≥ 65 years and 14–33% of people living in care facilities meet the criteria for sarcopenia.
• Causes of sarcopenia are generally attributable to the natural processes of aging, which are not entirely understood and are multifaceted. Factors contributing to its development include decreased type II muscle fiber size and number, inactivity, obesity, insulin resistance, reduced androgen and growth factor serum concentrations, inadequate protein intake, and a blunted Muscle Protein Synthesis (MPS) response to protein meals or resistance exercise.
• Accurately and consistently measuring sarcopenia is challenging due to the limitations of current assessment tools, which often lack specificity and vary across different populations. To effectively address this issue, it is essential to establish an international consensus advocating for a multi-biomarker approach, enabling a comprehensive evaluation of the condition’s various aspects.

DelveInsight’s ‘Sarcopenia - Epidemiology Forecast – 2034’ report delivers an in-depth understanding of the sarcopenia, historical and forecasted epidemiology trends in the United States, EU4 (Germany, France, Italy, and Spain) and the United Kingdom, and Japan.

Geography Covered

• The United States
• EU4 (Germany, France, Italy, and Spain) and the United Kingdom
• Japan

Study Period: 2021-2034

Sarcopenia: Disease Understanding 

Sarcopenia Overview

Sarcopenia is a progressive and generalized skeletal muscle disorder involving the accelerated loss of muscle mass and function that is associated with increased adverse outcomes, including falls, functional decline, frailty, and mortality. It occurs commonly as an age-related process in older people, influenced not only by contemporaneous risk factors but also by genetic and lifestyle factors operating across the life course. It can also occur in mid-life in association with various conditions. The first was the introduction of muscle function into the concept in six consensus definitions since 2010. This new focus on muscle function, usually defined by muscle strength, muscle power, or physical performance, occurred because the function was consistently a more powerful predictor of clinically relevant outcomes than muscle mass alone. The second milestone was the recognition of sarcopenia as an independent condition with an International Classification of Diseases-10 code in 2016. Yet, most clinicians remain unaware of the condition and the diagnostic tools needed to identify it.

The pathophysiology of sarcopenia is multifactorial, with decreased caloric intake, muscle fiber denervation, intracellular oxidative stress, hormonal decline, and enhanced myostatin signaling all thought to contribute.

Sarcopenia Diagnosis 

Sarcopenia is diagnosed through a combination of clinical assessments and objective measurements. The process typically begins with screening tools like the SARC-F questionnaire, which evaluates symptoms such as muscle strength, difficulty walking, rising from a chair, climbing stairs, and history of falls. If sarcopenia is suspected, healthcare providers confirm the diagnosis by measuring muscle strength (often with handgrip strength or chair stand tests) and assessing muscle mass using imaging techniques like dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), or, less commonly, MRI and CT scans. Diagnostic criteria from groups like the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) require evidence of low muscle mass plus reduced muscle strength or poor physical performance, with specific cut-off values for each parameter.

For More Information of the Report @ Sarcopenia Treatment Market Size

Sarcopenia Epidemiology

The sarcopenia epidemiology chapter in the report provides historical as well as forecasted epidemiology segmented by the total diagnosed prevalent cases of sarcopenia, gender-specific diagnosed prevalent cases of sarcopenia, age-specific diagnosed prevalent cases of sarcopenia, and severity-specific diagnosed prevalent cases of sarcopenia in the 7MM covering the United States, EU4 (Germany, France, Italy, and Spain) and the United Kingdom, and Japan from 2021 to 2034.

• The total diagnosed prevalent cases of sarcopenia in the 7MM were nearly ~19,836,200 in 2024 and are projected to increase during the forecast period (2025–2034). 
• Among the EU4 and the UK, the UK accounted for the highest number of sarcopenia-diagnosed prevalent cases, followed by Germany, whereas Spain accounted for the lowest number of cases in 2024.
• Based on severity, sarcopenia cases are classified as mild to moderate and severe. The mild to moderate accounted for 8,400,000 in 2024 in the US. 
• In the US, based on age, sarcopenia cases are stratified in the age group 65–69 years, 70–79 years, and ≥80 years. The 65–69 years of age group accounted for the highest number of patients i.e. nearly ~4,520,200 in 2024 in the US.
• In Japan, the cases of sarcopenia account for approximately 5,225,100 in 2024.
• Sarcopenia is slightly more prevalent in males than females in the US. In 2024, approximately 55% of diagnosed cases were male and 45% for female.

Scope of the Report

• The report covers a segment of key events, an executive summary, descriptive overview of sarcopenia, explaining its causes, signs and symptoms, pathogenesis, and diagnostic approaches.
• Comprehensive insight has been provided into the epidemiology segments and forecasts, the future growth potential of diagnosis rate.
• A detailed review of the sarcopenia epidemiology, detailed assumptions, and rationale behind our approach is included in the report.
• A detailed review of current challenges in establishing the diagnosis.

Explore More Insights of the Report @ Sarcopenia Pipeline Drugs

Sarcopenia Report Insights

• Patient population
• Country-wise epidemiology distribution

Sarcopenia Report Key Strengths

• Ten years forecast
• 7MM coverage 
• Sarcopenia epidemiology segmentation

Sarcopenia Report Assessment

• Unmet needs
• Current diagnostic practices

FAQs

• What are the disease risks, burdens, and unmet needs of sarcopenia? What will be the growth opportunities across the 7MM concerning the patient population with sarcopenia?
• What is the historical and forecasted sarcopenia patient pool in the US, EU4 (Germany, France, Italy, and Spain), the UK, and Japan?
• Which age-specific cases of sarcopenia are the largest contributor?

Reasons to buy

• Insights on patient burden/disease prevalence, evolution in diagnosis, and factors contributing to the change in the epidemiology of the disease during the forecast years.
• To understand the age-specific sarcopenia prevalent cases in varying geographies over the coming years
• To understand KOLs’ perspectives around the accessibility, acceptability, and compliance-related challenges of sarcopenia to overcome barriers in the future.
• Detailed insights on various factors hampering disease diagnosis and other existing diagnostic challenges. 

Stay updated with us for Recent Articles @ New DelveInsight Blogs