Effect of Protein Administration, on the Quality of Life (HRQoL) of Sarcopenic Patients

Introduction: Sarcopenia or the modern geriatric giant as it is called in the global literature is included among the most frequent geriatric syndromes such as immobility and instability. The demographic characteristics of this syndrome show that a total of 5–13% among people aged more than 60 years old are expected to suffer from sarcopenia, while this percentage is increased to 50% for people aged more than 80 years old. Objective: To examine the effects of protein administration in the Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL), of sarcopenic sufferers. Method: English articles from literature were included from April 2013 to April 2018, which were digitally available in pubmed. Included keywords were combinations of the keywords “Health-Related Quality of Life”, HRQoL, “Quality of Life”, QoL, protein, amino acids, supplements, sarcopenia, muscle loss or muscular atrophy. Results: The immediate consequence of sarcopenia are loss of mobility which enhances the danger of fractions from fall or other subsequent body injuries. These consequences affect not only the person involved but the immediate family circle since it alters life style and everyday life in general. More to these negative effects the health care cost to provide proper aid is significant reaching the 1.5% of the U.S. health care budget. In order to assess the degree of muscle mass increment to sarcopenic patients and the subsequent effect to their health-related quality of life (HRQoL) a systematic review was conducted for the past five years of relevant researches. The results of the review showed that protein supplementation diet helps in the improvement of the patient’s overall physical condition but does not contribute significantly in the increment of their muscle mass or their quality of life. Conclusion: Protein rich diet has not shown improvement in preventing or reversing the effects of sarcopenia. In addition, lack of common definitions, measurements and study protocols among the researches was noted.