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Aging is related to decrease in taste perception. As appetite is considered crucial for maintenance of proper nutritional status of older adults, its decrease during aging raises questions about its relation to gustatory functions and further prevention possibilities.

Background: Sarcopenia is a potentially reversible condition, which requires proper screening and diagnosis. Aims: To validate a Polish version of sarcopenia screening questionnaire (SARC-F), and assess its clinical performance. Methods: Cross-sectional validation study in community-dwelling subjects ≥ 65 years of age. Diagnosis of sarcopenia was based on the 2018 2nd European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP2) consensus. Hand grip and 4-m gait speed were measured, and the Polish version of SARC-F was administered. Results: The mean (SD) age of 73 participants (21.9% men) was 77.8 (7.3) years. Seventeen participants (23.3%) fulfilled the EWGSOP2 criteria of sarcopenia, and 9 (12.3%) criteria for severe sarcopenia. Fourteen (19.2%) participants fulfilled the SARC-F criteria for clinical suspicion of sarcopenia. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for internal was 0.84. With EWGSOP2 sarcopenia as a gold standard, the sensitivity of SARC-F was 35.3% (95% CI 14.2–61.7, p= 0.33), specificity was 85.7% (95% CI 73.8–93.6, p< 0.0001). The corresponding positive and negative predictive values were 42.9% (p= 0.79) and 81.4% (p< 0.0001), respectively. The probability of false-positive result was 14.3% (95% CI 6.4–26.2, p< 0.0001) and the probability of false-negative result was 64.7% (95% CI 38.3–85.8, p= 0.33). Overall the predictive power of SARC-F was low (c-statistic 0.64). Discussion: SARC-F is currently recommended for sarcopenia case finding in general population of older adults. However, its sensitivity is low, despite high specificity. Conclusions: At present SARC-F is better suited to rule out sarcopenia then to case-finding. Further refinement of screening for sarcopenia with the use of SARC-F seems needed.