AGE Research Group publishes new UK sarcopenia survey data

Members of the AGE Research Group have published a new paper in the journal European Geriatric Medicine reporting on current practice in the management and diagnosis of sarcopenia in the UK.

The work, which surveyed practice across 62 different hospitals and healthcare organisations across the UK in 2024, aimed to describe current practice in the diagnosis and management of sarcopenia in older people.

Following on from previous work led by the AGE Research Group in 2018, this new survey has shown that more than 50% of organisations surveyed are now identifying sarcopenia in older people as part of clinical practice. This indicates a modest increase in evidence-based diagnosis and management of sarcopenia in the UK over the past six years.

The survey also showed that most of the organisations responding to the survey offer interventions to treat sarcopenia, although only a small proportion were offering resistance exercise training despite this being the most effective intervention for counteracting sarcopenia in older people.

Findings from the survey have shown that more work is needed to embed the diagnosis of sarcopenia into clinical practice. Professor Witham, co-lead of the Ageing, Sarcopenia and Multimorbidity theme of the NIHR Newcastle BRC said “this survey provides us with an up to date understanding of current practice in sarcopenia diagnosis and treatment across the UK. Although it is good to see some improvement in the proportion of organisations identifying sarcopenia, there is clearly more to be done to improve identification, treatment and care of this important condition that blights the lives of so many older people. Our group continues to research new ways to treat and prevent sarcopenia, and we are working to help colleagues deliver proven treatments like strength training in an effective way to more older people”

Hurst, C., McDonald, C., Cooper, R. et al. Are we making progress in the diagnosis and management of sarcopenia? Results from a UK-wide survey. Eur Geriatr Med (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41999-025-01321-w

You can read more about the work of the Ageing, Sarcopenia and Multimorbidity theme of the NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre here.

Last modified: Wed, 15 Oct 2025 16:42:09 BST