The SARC-F is a five-question screen for sarcopenia risk based on strength, walking, rising from a chair, climbing stairs and falls. This page covers its structure, scoring and how to pair it with grip, SPPB and DXA.
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Screening total
5 / 10
SARC-F at a glance
Licensing
Free, with conditionsRights holder: Malmstrom and Morley (JAMDA, 2013)The SARC-F was published by Malmstrom and Morley in JAMDA in 2013. No copyright or permission statement could be found when this page was checked, so it is not described as free. Confirm terms with the authors or the publisher, and use only a permitted translation.
In Capture: Capture doesn't supply this instrument or a licence for it. Once you have both, enter the official wording yourself. On the patient-completed questionnaire, switch on "Licence required" in the questionnaire's settings and record the licence number and expiry. Staff see a "copyright approval pending" watermark until you do, and Capture stops new data collection on the questionnaire after the recorded expiry date. Site-completed forms don't carry licence controls, so keep the licence with your study documents.
Instrument names belong to their rights holders, and Capture is not affiliated with or endorsed by them. Terms change, so confirm them with the rights holder before your study starts. This is general information, not legal advice.
The instrument
Muscle strength, muscle mass and physical performance each need equipment and trained staff. A questionnaire that takes a minute helps decide who gets the full assessment, which saves cost in a large screening effort and in community cohorts. The SARC-F asks about perceived difficulty in daily activities, not about measured muscle, so a negative score does not rule sarcopenia out.
For trial design, that means two uses: as an eligibility or enrichment screen (positive screens go on to confirmatory tests) and as a descriptive or exploratory outcome. If it is an enrolment criterion, the confirmatory test must be in the protocol too. The EDC for sarcopenia clinical trials page walks through how the measures fit together.
Each component takes one of three answers coded 0, 1 and 2, where a higher number is more difficulty. For the falls component, the usual coding is 0 for none, 1 for one to three falls in the past year and 2 for four or more. Store each component code and derive the sum and the 4-or-more flag in analysis, because the total is not one of Capture's calculated fields. Make all five required so the total is never partial.
Structure
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Components | Strength, assistance in walking, rise from a chair, climb stairs, falls |
| Component scoring | 0, 1 or 2 each |
| Total | 0 to 10, higher is more likely sarcopenia |
| Positive screen | 4 or more |
| Performance | Low sensitivity, high specificity, per published validation studies |
| Who completes it | Participant or caregiver, by self-report |
| Follow-up tests | Grip strength, then DXA or other muscle mass measure, then SPPB or gait speed |
| Rights status | Not confirmed. Check with the authors or publisher |
This page gives structure and scoring only. Take the item wording and answer options from the published source or a permitted translation.
Run it your way
As an ePRO the participant gets a secure link by email or SMS and answers in the phone browser, with no app to install. As an eCRF, staff enter the five answers during the visit. The best choice follows your protocol: caregiver-completed or in-clinic screening usually suits eCRF.
Evening diary
Question 3 of 8
How would you rate your fatigue today?
0 = no fatigue, 10 = worst imaginable
Licensing
Because the terms were not confirmed, ask the authors or the publisher before using the SARC-F in a funded or commercial trial, and keep the reply in the study documents. If you run it as an ePRO questionnaire, Capture lets the study team switch on "Licence required" and record a number, holder and expiry, with a "copyright approval pending" watermark for staff until they are entered. Nothing is blocked while details are missing. As a site-completed eCRF there are no licence controls. Capture does not verify licences with rights holders and does not supply the wording.
Copyright & licence
Approval pendingLicence number
Not recorded
Expiry date
Not recorded
Watermark shown to staff only. Participants never see it.
Setup
Get the questionnaire and any translation from a permitted source and record where it came from.
Add five single-choice components with codes 0, 1, 2, in the published order.
Required fields prevent a partial total.
Place it at screening and any follow-up visits where change in perceived function is an outcome.
Add grip, SPPB and DXA forms to the same visit or the next one, so a positive screen is followed up.
Document the sum, the cut-off of 4 and the falls coding in the analysis plan.
Worked example
A participant answers with codes 1, 1, 1, 2 and 0 across the five components. The total is 5, so the screen is positive. At the same visit, grip strength is 25.5 kg (below the EWGSOP2 men's threshold of 27 kg), which makes sarcopenia probable under that algorithm. DXA then gives ALMI, and the SPPB total grades severity.
The point of keeping all four forms in one study is that the sequence is visible in one dataset. Monitors can see which positive screens had a grip test and a scan, and which did not. For how that review works, see EDC for frailty and healthy ageing trials.
Build the five components, schedule the follow-up forms and run a sample participant. No credit card.
Five components, each 0, 1 or 2, add to a total of 0 to 10. A total of 4 or more is a positive screen for sarcopenia risk.
We could not find a copyright or permission statement from the authors when this page was checked, so we do not claim it is free. Confirm with the authors or the publisher, and keep the answer in the study documents.
No. It has low sensitivity and misses some people. It is a case-finding step, followed by strength and muscle measurement.
No. Store each component code and derive the sum and the cut-off flag in analysis. Capture's calculated fields are a fixed set of clinical derivations such as BMI and eGFR.
Yes, as an ePRO in the phone browser from a secure link, or a caregiver can answer, or staff can enter it as an eCRF.
Under EWGSOP2, grip strength first, then muscle quantity by DXA or similar, and physical performance by SPPB or gait speed for severity.
No. It gives structure and scoring only.
Keep exploring
Build the screen and the confirmatory forms in one study. Free sandbox, no credit card.