Measuring physical performance in highly active older adults: associations with age and gender?

Abstract

Background: Higher age is associated with reduced physical capability in the general population. The role of age and gender for physical performance in older adults who exercises regularly is however not clear, and there is also a lack of recommendations for outcomes to address physical performance for this population. Aims: To explore the associations between physical performance, age and gender, and to examine the suitability and feasibility of clinical field tests for physical performance in active older adults. Methods: In this cross-sectional study we included 105 persons, 70-90 years of age, who had exercised regularly for ≥ 12 months. The field tests were Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), Timed Up and Go and gait speed for mobility; One-leg standing (OLS) test and Mini-BESTest for balance; Stair test for endurance, 30 s sit-to-stand, and grip strength for muscle strength. Results: We found associations between age and physical performance, and the associations were slightly stronger for women. Men performed better on tests of muscle strength, balance and endurance, while no gender differences were found in mobility. Grip strength was not associated with mobility tests for men. All tests were feasible, while SPPB and OLS had ceiling and floor effects that limit their suitability in this population. Conclusions: Both age and gender were associated with physical performance. We recommend using the gait speed, Mini-BESTest, 30s sit-to-stand, grip strength and stair tests to assess physical performance in physically active older adults.

Validity and reliability testing of the Spanish version of the BESTest and mini-BESTest in healthy community-dwelling elderly

“…There is strong evidence that physical activity reduces the risk of falling [ 27 , 28 ]. Some papers have also pointed out that physical activity is more intense and frequent in elderly men, while activities of daily living are usually more demanding for women [ 29 ]. Unfortunately, in our study we have not recorded a validated score for physical activity, but the participants who were men reported practicing more physical activity than women.…”

“…This is the only factor that could explain our results. Comorbidity, medication or socioeconomic differences, other important-factors mentioned in the literature as responsible for poor balance [ 29 – 31 ] should not be taken into account in our present work because we selected for healthy subjects, unhealthy were excluded, and they were mostly couples with a similar socioeconomic status. Nevertheless, despite the oral report of physical activity, due to the absence of a systematic collection of this information through self-reports or administered scales, we consider that one should take with caution the interpretation that the differences in balance score between genders is due to differences in levels of physical activity.…”

“…We want to highlight these results, which lead us to ask ourselves if better balance in independent elderly people who have no history of a recent fall is linked to gender. There is no consensus in the literature: some studies did not find them, while others observed indeed lower levels of postural stability and balance for men [ 29 – 31 ].…”

Impact of Malnutrition Status on Muscle Parameter Changes over a 5-Year Follow-Up of Community-Dwelling Older Adults from the SarcoPhAge Cohort

“…The following variables that could potentially impact muscle health and nutritional status according to the literature [19,[31][32][33][34][35][36][37] were considered covariates: age, sex, smoking status (yes/no), alcohol consumption (yes/no), number of comorbidities per individual, number of drugs consumed per individual, cognitive status assessed by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) [38], self-reported physical activity level with the Minnesota Leisure Time Activity Questionnaire [39], and the baseline value of the muscle component.…”

Risk factors of falls and the gender differences in older adults with diabetes at outpatient clinics

“…Additionally, some risk factors of falls have gender differences, which might contribute differently to falls. For example, studies have found that females experience higher fear of falling than males (Hewston & Deshpande, 2018), while men possess better muscle strength and balance than females (Tangen & Robinson, 2020). Understanding the risk factors of falls and the gender differences in Asian OWD deserve special attention.…”