ORIGINAL ARTICLE Development of a practical screening tool to predict low muscle mass using NHANES 1999–2004

Background Skeletal muscle mass declines after the age of 50. Loss of skeletal muscle mass is associated with in-creased morbidity and mortality. Objective This study aims to identify predictors of low skeletal muscle mass in older adults toward development of a practical clinical assessment tool for use by clinicians to identify patients requiring dual-energy X-ray absorptiome-try (DXA) screening for muscle mass. Methods Data were drawn from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) from 1999 to 2004. Appendicular skeletal mass (ASM) was calculated based on DXA scans. Skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) was defined as the ratio of ASM divided by height in square centimeters. Elderly participants were classified as havin