This study aimed to assess the prevalence and factors associated with dynapenia in a nationally representative sample of Brazilians aged 50 years and older. A cross-sectional study was performed with baseline data from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSI-Brazil). Dynapenia was defined as low muscle strength (< 27kg for men and < 16kg for women). Explanatory variables were sociodemographic characteristics, health conditions, health behaviors and physical performance. Analyses were based on multivariate logistic regression and population attributable fractions. Among the 8,396 participants, the prevalence of dynapenia was 17.2% (16.6% among men and 17.7% among women); for those aged 65 years and older, the prevalence was 28.2% (29.1% and 27.5% among men and women, respectively). Dynapenia was positively associated with age, low gait speed, limitations in performing two or more basic daily activities, falls and self-reported chronic diseases; and negatively associated with education level, physical activity and body mass index (overweight/obese, OR = 0.26). Prevalence of dynapenia is high in Brazilian older adults. Educational skills and physical activity improvement present greater potential to reduce dynapenia in this population.

The results of this study show that a prescription of water exercises can be carried out in relative safety with this group of patients, and that systolic blood pressure tended to decrease, as shown by the measurement at minute 30.

Objectives: To compare gait and functional performance parameters in elderly subjects who had or had not total hip arthroplasty (THA). Methods: Our sample comprised 23 elderly subjects (72±6.5 years of age) with a mean of 2.6±1.3 years following THA, named the arthroplasty group (AG) and 23 asymptomatic elderly subjects (70.1±5.9 years of age), named the control group (CG). Case and control subjects were paired by gender, age, body mass index and level of physical activity. The GAITRite ® system was used to analyze various gait parameters in four situations: usual speed (US), fast speed (FS), slow speed (SS) and dual task (DT); the Dynamic Gait Index (DGI) and Timed Up and Go test (TUG) methods were used to evaluate functional capacity. The statistical analyses were carried out using the Shapiro-Wilk test, Student's-t-tests for independent samples, chi-square tests, ANOVA for repeated measurements and paired Student's-t-tests. Results: The AG had the worst results for gait speed (AG=1.18±0.13 and CG=1.39±0.09; p=0.012), symmetry index (SI) of step length (AG=3.60±1.01 and CG=1.12±0.59; p=0.000), SI of step time (AG=-2.65±0.92 and CG=0.99±0.74; p=0.000), SI of stance phase (AG=-2.55 and CG=-1.04±0.50; p=0.005), SI of single support phase (AG=-2.17±0.78 and CG=1.21±0.51; p=0.003), DGI (AG=20.04±1.91 and CG=21.69±1.45; p=0.001) and TUG (AG=14.67±1.94 and CG=10.08±1.49; p=0.001). Conclusion: Elderly subjects with a history of THA had changes in gait parameters and lower performance in TUG test even 2.6±1,3 years after surgery, which suggests functional impairment.

Introduction: Falls are among the most common and serious problems facing elderly women. Falling is associated with increased mortality, morbidity, reduced functioning, loss of independence and hospitalization. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the association among fear of falling, muscle strength, and functional abilities in community-dwelling elderly women. Methods: Forty-nine elderly women (70.57 ± 5.59 years) participated in this study. Records of falls, self-efficacy associated with falls (FES- I