scholarly journals Changes in muscle strength and physical function in older patients during and after hospitalisation: a prospective repeated-measures cohort study

Author(s):  
Peter Hartley ◽  
Roman Romero-Ortuno ◽  
Ian Wellwood ◽  
Christi Deaton

Abstract Aim to investigate changes in knee-extension strength and physical function in older adults during and after acute hospital admission, and the contributions of illness severity, frailty and sedentary activity to changes in knee-extension strength. Methods prospective repeated-measures cohort study on a sample of participants aged ≥75 recruited within 24 hours of acute hospital admission. Knee-extension, grip strength and functional mobility (de Morton Mobility Index, DEMMI) were measured at recruitment, day 7 (or discharge if earlier), and at follow-up 4–6 weeks later. During the first 7 days, continuous measurement of physical activity and daily measurements of muscle strength were taken. Participants recalled the functional ability they had 2-weeks before admission and self-reported it at follow-up (Barthel Index, BI). Results sixty-five of 70 participants (median age 84 years) had at least one repeated measure of muscle strength in hospital. Knee-extension strength declined during hospitalisation by 11% (P < 0.001), but did not change post-hospitalisation (P = 0.458). Grip strength did not change during hospitalisation (P = 0.665) or from discharge to follow-up (P = 0.508). General functional ability (BI) deteriorated between 2 weeks before admission and follow-up (P < 0.001). Functional mobility (DEMMI) improved during hospitalisation (P < 0.001), but did not change post-hospitalisation (P = 0.508). A repeated-measures mixed model showed that greater loss in knee-extension strength during hospitalisation was associated with increased sedentary time, frailty and baseline strength and lower baseline inflammatory levels. Conclusions our observations add to a growing body of evidence on potential risk factors for hospital-associated deconditioning.

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. i22-i23 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Hartley ◽  
R Romero-Ortuno ◽  
I Wellwood ◽  
C Deaton

Abstract Introduction Hospital associated deconditioning is a well-established phenomenon. Whilst mechanisms are not well understood, one is thought to be skeletal muscle wasting and/or loss of muscle strength. The primary aim of this study was to investigate changes in knee-extension muscle strength in older patients during and after an acute-hospital admission. We also aimed to explore the potential contributions of frailty, acute-illness severity and sedentary activity, with changes in knee-extension strength. Methods This was a prospective repeated-measures cohort study. Measurements of muscle strength and functional mobility were taken at recruitment, on day 7 of admission (or at discharge if earlier) and again 4-6 weeks post-hospitalisation. During the first 7 days of admission, daily measurements of muscle strength were taken. Results We recruited 70 participants, of which 65 had at least one repeated measure in hospital. Median age was 84 years, and participants participated in the study for a median of 6 days whilst in hospital, on average participants were ‘active’ for less than 4% of the day. Knee-extension strength significantly reduced by approximately 11% during hospitalisation, but no significant changes occurred post-hospitalisation. A repeated-measures mixed model included 292 observations from 62 participants and showed a significant decrease in the reduction in muscle strength as patients' sedentary time decreased on days 2 to 7 of the study. Additionally, the model showed that a higher frailty score, higher baseline knee-extension strength, lower baseline c-reactive protein levels were associated with greater loss in knee-extension strength during hospitalisation. Association between change in functional mobility after hospitalisation and change in knee-extension strength during hospitalisation was non-significant. Conclusion Our findings provide an important link in understanding the mechanisms and relative contributions of risk factors to hospital associated deconditioning. Further research is needed to confirm these findings and examine the impact of reducing sedentary time on muscle strength during and post-hospitalisation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (10) ◽  
pp. 1996-2002
Author(s):  
Kaisa Koivunen ◽  
Elina Sillanpää ◽  
Mikaela von Bonsdorff ◽  
Ritva Sakari ◽  
Timo Törmäkangas ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Physiological reserve, as indicated by muscle strength and gait speed, may be especially determinant of survival in people who are exposed to a health stressor. We studied whether the association between strength/speed and mortality risk would be stronger in the time period after a fracture compared to other time periods. Methods Participants were population-based sample of 157 men and 325 women aged 75 and 80 years at baseline. Maximal 10-m gait speed and maximal isometric grip and knee extension strength were tested at the baseline before the fracture. Subsequent fracture incidence and mortality were followed up for 15 years. Cox regression analysis was used to estimate fracture time-stratified effects of gait speed and muscle strength on mortality risk in three states: (i) nonfracture state, (ii) the first postfracture year, and (iii) after the first postfracture year until death/end of follow-up. Results During the follow-up, 20% of the men and 44% of the women sustained a fracture. In both sexes, lower gait speed and in women lower knee extension strength was associated with increased mortality risk in the nonfracture state. During the first postfracture year, the mortality risk associated with slower gait and lower strength was increased and higher than in the nonfracture state. After the first postfracture year, mortality risk associated with lower gait speed and muscle strength attenuated. Conclusions Lower gait speed and muscle strength were more strongly associated with mortality risk after fracture than during nonfracture time, which may indicate decreased likelihood of recovery.


Geriatrics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 8
Author(s):  
Morten Tange Kristensen ◽  
Signe Hulsbæk ◽  
Louise Lohmann Faber ◽  
Lise Kronborg

To examine if knee-extension strength (KES) measures indicating probable sarcopenia are associated with health-related outcomes and if KES and hand grip strength (HGS) measures are associated with 1-year mortality after hip fracture. Two groups of older patients with hip fracture had either HGS (n = 32) or KES (n = 150) assessed during their acute hospital stay. Cut-points for HGS (<27 kg for men and <16 kg for women), and cut-points for maximal isometric KES (non-fractured limb), being the lowest sex-specific quintile (<23.64 kg for men and <15.24 kg for women), were used to examine association with health-related outcomes and 1-year mortality. Overall, 1-year mortality was 12.6% in the two strength groups, of which 47% (HGS) and 46% (KES) respectively, were classified as probable sarcopenia. Probable sarcopenia patients (KES) had lower prefracture function, performed poorly in mobility measures and expressed a greater concern of falling compared to their stronger counterparts. Hazard ratio for 1-year mortality was 2.7 (95%CI = 0.49–14.7, p = 0.3) for HGS and 9.8 (95%CI = 2.2–43.0, p = 0.002) for KES for probable sarcopenia patients compared to those not. Sex-specific KES measures indicating sarcopenia is associated with health-related outcomes and a strong predictor of 1-year mortality after hip fracture.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroki Yabe ◽  
Yuto Imoto ◽  
Ayaka Onoyama ◽  
Sayaka Ito ◽  
Kenichi Kono ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The risk of adverse events associated with peritoneal dialysis (PD) in elderly patients has not been thoroughly investigated. The purpose of this study was to assess the association between physical function and hospitalization in elderly PD patients. Methods This is a single-center prospective observational cohort study. Thirty-three aged patients (74.8 ± 5.9 years) participated in a 6-min walk distance, short physical performance battery (SPPB), lower extremity muscle strength, and 10-m walk speed. All subjects were followed until hospitalization to the end of the follow-up period. Results The 6-min walk distance was 332 ± 112.5 m; SPPB was 11 (8.3–12) points; the lower extremity muscle strength was 36.6 ± 9.6%; 10-m walk speed was 1.1± 0.2 m/s. During the follow-up, 19 patients (57.5%) were hospitalized. In the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and log-rank test, a lower 6-min walk distance and PD vintage were significantly associated with hospitalization (p<0.05). After adjustment for PD vintage in Cox proportional analysis, the 6-min walk distance remained associated with hospitalization (95% confidence interval, 0.98–0.99). Conclusion Lower exercise tolerance assessed by the 6-min walk distance was significantly associated with hospitalization in elderly PD patients. Our findings indicate that measurement and intervention of exercise intolerance are essential to predict the clinical outcomes of elderly PD patients. Trial registration This study was prospectively registered at inception in the UMIN Clinical Trials Registry under identification number UMIN000038405.


Gerontology ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Maxence Meyer ◽  
Florentin Constancias ◽  
Thomas Vogel ◽  
Georges Kaltenbach ◽  
Elise Schmitt

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Falls among older people are a major health issue and the first cause of accidental death after 75 years of age. Post-fall syndrome (PFS) is commonly known and yet poorly studied. <b><i>Objective:</i></b> Identify risk factors for PFS and do a follow-up 1 year later. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> We included all patients over 70 years of age hospitalized after suffering a fall in a case-control study, and then followed them in a cohort study. PFS was retained in case of functional mobility decline (transferring, walking) occurring following a fall in the absence of an acute neurological, orthopedic or rheumatic pathology directly responsible for the decline. The data initially collected were: clinical (anamnestic, emergency and departmental/ward evolution, medical history, lifestyle, treatments, clinical examination items); and imaging if the patient had been subjected to brain imaging in the last 3 years prior to inclusion. Regarding the follow-up at 1 year, we collected from the general physician the occurrence and the characteristics of new falls, functional mobility assessment, hospitalization and death. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Inclusion took place from March 29, 2016 to June 7, 2016 and follow-up until June 30, 2017. We included 70 patients. A total of 29 patients exhibited a PFS (41.4 %). Risk factors for PFS included age, walking disorder prior to the fall, the use of a walking aid prior to the fall, no unaccompanied outdoor walk in the week before the fall, visual impairment making close reading impossible, stiffness in ankle dorsiflexion, grip strength and the fear of falling. Among patients with PFS, 52.9% could still perform a transfer at 1 year and 64.7% could still walk against 80.7% and 85.2%, respectively, for patients without PFS. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> The study showed the existence of body functions/structure impairments and activity limitations prior to the fall among patients exhibiting a PFS. This suggests the existence of a pre-fall syndrome, i.e., a psychomotor disadaptation syndrome existing prior to the fall. Among the 8 risk factors, fear of falling, vision impairment and muscle strength could be targeted for improvement. The diagnosis of PFS could be a marker of loss of functional mobility at 1 year.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 205435812110577
Author(s):  
Isabelle Ethier ◽  
Immaculate Nevis ◽  
Rita S. Suri

Background: Recent randomized clinical trials have demonstrated beneficial effects of hemodiafiltration (HDF) compared with hemodialysis (HD) on mortality and hemodynamic stability. Data on quality of life in HDF compared with HD is limited. Objective: This study aimed to determine whether patients receiving HD experience improvements in quality of life, hemodynamic and laboratory parameters after switching to HDF. Design: Observational controlled cohort study. Setting & Patients: Adult patients receiving maintenance dialysis were followed for 3 months both before and after transfer to a new unit, where they received HDF. Prior to transfer, control patients were already treated by HDF. Methods: Quality of life at baseline and follow-up was measured using the validated minutes to recovery (MR) question. Dialysis data were collected for 3 consecutive sessions monthly; laboratory values were collected monthly. Wilcoxon signed rank test and repeated measures analysis of covariance were used to evaluate pre/post transfer changes and quantile regression to identify predictors of change in recovery time. Results: Of 227 patients, 82 died, were transplanted, were hospitalized or did not transfer, leaving 123 subjects and 22 controls for analysis. MR did not improve with switching to HDF, although patients with MR > 60 min before transfer experienced a significant decrease in their MR, compared with controls. There was no improvement in intradialytic hypotension with HDF. There were no differences in laboratory values before vs after switch. Limitations: Nonrandomized single-center study, including only small numbers of patients and covering a short follow-up period; hemodynamic values only evaluated over 1 week per month; residual kidney function not recorded. Conclusions: In this Canadian experience of HDF, patients remained stable with respect to several laboratory and dialysis related parameters. Switch to HDF was associated with substantially reduced recovery time in patients with MR > 60 minutes at baseline.


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ida M. Grønborg ◽  
Inge Tetens ◽  
Elisabeth Wreford Andersen ◽  
Michael Kristensen ◽  
Rikke E. K. Larsen ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Deficient and insufficient vitamin D status (defined as serum 25(OH)D < 30 nmol/L and > 50 nmol/L) is prevalent worldwide and associated with decreased muscle strength and poor bone health. We aimed to investigate the effect of vitamin D fortification on bone markers and muscle strength among younger adult women at risk of vitamin D deficiency. Methods A 12-week randomised double-blinded placebo-controlled winter intervention trial, providing 30 μg vitamin D3/day through fortified yoghurt, cheese, eggs and crisp-bread or similar placebo products. Participants were 143 women of Danish and Pakistani origin 18–50 years of age, living in Denmark, randomised into four groups stratified by ethnicity. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) by LC-MS/MS and the secondary endpoints: four specific bone markers (osteocalcin (OC), Bone specific Alkaline Phosphatase (BALP), Procollagen type 1 amino-terminal propeptide (P1NP), C-terminal crosslinked telopeptide of type 1 collagen (CTX)) and three muscle strength measures (handgrip, knee extension strength, chair-standing), were assessed using one-way ANOVA, Tukey HSD and subsequent linear ANCOVA models, adjusted for relevant covariates. Results Significantly increased serum 25(OH)D concentration from 53.3 (17) to 77.8 (14) nmol/L and from 44.5 (21) to 54.7 (18) nmol/L among Danish and Pakistani women in the fortified groups, respectively (P <  0.05). The bone turnover markers OC, BALP, P1NP and CTX did not change significantly. Muscle strength by handgrip, knee extension and chair-standing test did not change significantly following the intervention. Conclusions Consumption of vitamin D fortified foods for 12 weeks did not result in significant changes of the bone turnover markers OC, BALP, P1NP and CTX. Muscle strength measured as hand grip strength, knee extension strength and chair-standing did not change significantly following the intervention.


BMJ Open ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. e002656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Timpka ◽  
Ingemar F Petersson ◽  
Caddie Zhou ◽  
Martin Englund

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Ki-Wai Ho ◽  
Lawrence Chun-Man Lau ◽  
Wai Wang Chau ◽  
Queena Poon ◽  
Kwong-Yin Chung ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Sarcopenia often accompanies osteoarthritis (OA), which is managed by total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in the late stage. Recent studies have suggested a higher risk of post-operative complications after TKA in sarcopenic OA subjects, but whether TKA can benefit them similar to non-sarcopenic subjects remains unexplored. This study aimed to examine the dynamic, mutual impact of sarcopenia and TKA in a one-year post-operative period.Methods: This prospective cohort study was conducted between 2015 to 2018 at our hospital. Patients with end-stage OA of the knee waiting for TKA were recruited into the study. Primary outcome measures were change in muscle strength, mass and function. Secondary outcome measures were quality of life (QOL) measurements for pain, psychological and physical health.Results: Fifty-eight patients were recruited, of which 79.3% were female and 32.8% already had sarcopenia at baseline. The average age of sarcopenic subjects and non-sarcopenic subjects was comparable (67.89±7.07 vs. 67.92±6.85; p=0.99), but sarcopenic subjects had a lower body mass index (BMI) (25.64±2.64 vs. 28.57±4.04; p=0.01). There was a statistically significant improvement in walking speed (10.24±5.35 vs. 7.69±2.68, p<0.01) and muscle strength in both sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic patients after TKA. This was accompanied by an improvement trend in muscle mass in all subjects. There was no change in handgrip power before and after TKA and subsequent follow-up (19.31±5.92 vs. 18.98±6.37 vs. 19.36±7.66; p=0.97). QOL measured before, after and at follow-up with WOMAC (total: 42.27±15.98 vs. 20.65±15.24 vs. 16.65±18.13) and SF12v2 (PCS: 33.06±8.55 vs. 38.96±8.01 vs. 40.67±7.93) revealed progressive significant improvement (both comparisons p≤0.01). Further analysis with the IPAQ also found increased engagement of high-intensity activities.Conclusions: This study showed that sarcopenia among patients with end-stage OA of the knee is not uncommon, but both sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic OA patients achieved significant clinical and functional improvement after TKA. Further studies with a larger sample size and different ethnicities could help ascertain a beneficial role of TKA in sarcopenic OA subjects.


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