Sensorimotor Peripheral Nerve Function and the Longitudinal Relationship With Endurance Walking in the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study

Abstract

Objectives To determine whether lower extremity sensorimotor peripheral nerve deficits are associated with reduced walking endurance in older adults. Design Prospective cohort study with six years of follow-up. Setting Two U.S. clinical sites in (Pittsburgh, PA and Memphis, TN). Participants Community-dwelling older adults enrolled in Health, Aging and Body Composition study from the 2000/01 annual clinical examination (n=2393; age 76.5 ± 2.9 years; 48.2% male; 38.2% black) and subset with longitudinal data (n=1,178). Interventions Not applicable Main Outcome Measures Participants underwent peripheral nerve function examination in 2000/01, including peroneal motor nerve conduction amplitude and velocity, vibration perception threshold, and monofilament testing. Symptoms of lower-extremity peripheral neuropathy included numbness or tingling and sudden stabbing, burning, pain, or aches in the feet or legs. The long distance corridor walk (LDCW; 400m) was administered in 2000/01 and every two years afterwards for 6 years to assess endurance walking performance over time. Results In separate fully adjusted linear mixed models poor vibration threshold (>130 microns), 10-g and 1.4-g monofilament insensitivity were each associated with slower LDCW completion time (16.0, 14.1, and 6.7, seconds slower, respectively, P<.05 for each). Poor motor amplitude (<1mV), poor vibration perception threshold, and 10-g monofilament insensitivity were related to greater slowing/year (4.7, 4.3, and 4.3 additional seconds/year, respectively, P<.05), though poor motor amplitude was not associated with initial completion time. Conclusions Poorer sensorimotor peripheral nerve function is related to slower endurance walking and greater slowing longitudinally. Interventions to reduce the burden of sensorimotor peripheral nerve function impairments should be considered in order to help older adults to maintain walking endurance—a critical component for remaining independent in the community.

Relationship between sensorimotor peripheral nerve function and indicators of cardiovascular autonomic function in older adults from the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study

“…Our prior work in this cohort has indicated that participants who were able to complete the full 400m tend to be younger and were generally healthier and had fewer chronic conditions compared to participants who were ineligible or unable to complete the full test. 5 Having these performance based only on a healthier subset may have limited our ability to detect any relationship between heart rate response/recovery with the measures of sensorimotor function. Similarly, a smaller portion of participants had data available for motor nerve conduction testing compared to the other sensorimotor measures, potentially also limiting the ability to assess the relationship between nerve conduction velocity and cardiovascular autonomic function.…”

“…3 These impairments are associated with worse physical performance, 4 walking endurance 5 , lower extremity muscle power 6 and strength, 7,8 as well as increased risk of falls 9 and incident mobility limitation. 3 Cardiovascular autonomic impairments inhibit the ability of the cardiovascular system to appropriately respond to stimuli and maintain homeostasis.…”

The feasibility of psychometric measures for body image and lymphedema for routine practice

“…30 As participants were asked to confirm that they did not have a specific illness which could affect the function of their lower limbs, the question may be poorly worded and causing confusion. Relph and Herrington 29 report that a reduction in knee mobility is common as a person ages, which could explain why this was one of the most commonly reported issues.…”

“…Issues surrounding numbness is more difficult to explain, as numbness is generally not a common sign of ageing but usually a symptom of some neuropathic illness or injury. 30 As participants were asked to confirm that they did not have a specific illness which could affect the function of their lower limbs, the question may be poorly worded and causing confusion. It is possible that some participants classified a common phenomenon such as pins and needles as numbness.…”

Measuring eating capability, liking and difficulty perception of older adults: A textural consideration

“…Therefore, although ageing is characterised by a decline in physical capacity (Balagopal, Rooyackers, Adey, Ades, & Nair, 1997;Fleg & Lakatta, 1988;Kenny, Yardley, Martineau, & Jay, 2008;Mingioni et al, 2016;Vita, Terry, Hubert, & Fries, 1998) and poorer mental health (Lange-Maia et al, 2016); there is nevertheless opportunity to identify changes associated with ageing to intervene early to promote health. One example of this is to characterise problems such as loss of appetite and develop solutions to improve nutritional status in older adults (Nieuwenhuizen, Weenen, Rigby, & Hetherington, 2010).…”