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Objective measures of physical capability and subsequent health: a systematic review

Objective measures of physical capability and subsequent health: a systematic review
Objective measures of physical capability and subsequent health: a systematic review
Background: measures of physical capability may be predictive of subsequent health, but existing published studies have not been systematically reviewed. We hypothesised that weaker grip strength, slower walking speed and chair rising and shorter standing balance time, in community-dwelling populations, would be associated with higher subsequent risk of fracture, cognitive outcomes, cardiovascular disease, hospitalisation and institutionalisation.

Methods: studies were identified through systematic searches of the electronic databases MEDLINE and EMBASE (to May 2009). Reference lists of eligible papers were also manually searched.

Results: twenty-four papers had examined the associations between at least one physical capability measure and one of the outcomes. As the physical capability measures and outcomes had been assessed and categorised in different ways in different studies, and there were differences in the potential confounding factors taken into account, this made it impossible to pool results. There were more studies examining fractures than other outcomes, and grip strength and walking speed were the most commonly examined capability measures. Most studies found that weaker grip strength and slower walking speed were associated with increased risk of future fractures and cognitive decline, but residual confounding may explain results in some studies. Associations between physical capability levels and the other specified outcomes have not been tested widely.

Conclusions: there is some evidence to suggest that objective measures of physical capability may be predictors of subsequent health in older community-dwelling populations. Most hypothesised associations have not been studied sufficiently to draw definitive conclusions suggesting the need for further research.
grip strength, walking speed, chair rises, standing balance, fracture, cognitive outcomes, cardiovascular disease, systematic review
0002-0729
14-23
Cooper, Rachel
24a4a55a-ccc1-4961-9b76-b89aa4eb2fdf
Kuh, Diana
4f3b51aa-21a0-4d68-be14-e1ed75448aaf
Cooper, Cyrus
e05f5612-b493-4273-9b71-9e0ce32bdad6
Gale, Catherine R.
5bb2abb3-7b53-42d6-8aa7-817e193140c8
Lawlor, Debbie A.
799826df-f115-4fb7-83ea-53c246c220d4
Matthews, Fiona
c0f3cef0-85d9-4b1b-8a1b-95dbe29e53b7
Hardy, Rebecca
99fecbaf-fc92-4354-aa02-cb904dd2bd32
FALCon and HALCyon Study teams
Cooper, Rachel
24a4a55a-ccc1-4961-9b76-b89aa4eb2fdf
Kuh, Diana
4f3b51aa-21a0-4d68-be14-e1ed75448aaf
Cooper, Cyrus
e05f5612-b493-4273-9b71-9e0ce32bdad6
Gale, Catherine R.
5bb2abb3-7b53-42d6-8aa7-817e193140c8
Lawlor, Debbie A.
799826df-f115-4fb7-83ea-53c246c220d4
Matthews, Fiona
c0f3cef0-85d9-4b1b-8a1b-95dbe29e53b7
Hardy, Rebecca
99fecbaf-fc92-4354-aa02-cb904dd2bd32

Cooper, Rachel, Kuh, Diana, Cooper, Cyrus, Gale, Catherine R., Lawlor, Debbie A., Matthews, Fiona and Hardy, Rebecca , FALCon and HALCyon Study teams (2011) Objective measures of physical capability and subsequent health: a systematic review. Age and Ageing, 40 (1), 14-23. (doi:10.1093/ageing/afq117). (PMID:20843964)

Record type: Article

Abstract

Background: measures of physical capability may be predictive of subsequent health, but existing published studies have not been systematically reviewed. We hypothesised that weaker grip strength, slower walking speed and chair rising and shorter standing balance time, in community-dwelling populations, would be associated with higher subsequent risk of fracture, cognitive outcomes, cardiovascular disease, hospitalisation and institutionalisation.

Methods: studies were identified through systematic searches of the electronic databases MEDLINE and EMBASE (to May 2009). Reference lists of eligible papers were also manually searched.

Results: twenty-four papers had examined the associations between at least one physical capability measure and one of the outcomes. As the physical capability measures and outcomes had been assessed and categorised in different ways in different studies, and there were differences in the potential confounding factors taken into account, this made it impossible to pool results. There were more studies examining fractures than other outcomes, and grip strength and walking speed were the most commonly examined capability measures. Most studies found that weaker grip strength and slower walking speed were associated with increased risk of future fractures and cognitive decline, but residual confounding may explain results in some studies. Associations between physical capability levels and the other specified outcomes have not been tested widely.

Conclusions: there is some evidence to suggest that objective measures of physical capability may be predictors of subsequent health in older community-dwelling populations. Most hypothesised associations have not been studied sufficiently to draw definitive conclusions suggesting the need for further research.

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More information

Published date: January 2011
Keywords: grip strength, walking speed, chair rises, standing balance, fracture, cognitive outcomes, cardiovascular disease, systematic review

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 170339
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/170339
ISSN: 0002-0729
PURE UUID: c99882fc-ed6d-42f1-9421-cfd02388685a
ORCID for Cyrus Cooper: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-3510-0709
ORCID for Catherine R. Gale: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-3361-8638

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 05 Jan 2011 15:21
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 02:45

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Contributors

Author: Rachel Cooper
Author: Diana Kuh
Author: Cyrus Cooper ORCID iD
Author: Debbie A. Lawlor
Author: Fiona Matthews
Author: Rebecca Hardy
Corporate Author: FALCon and HALCyon Study teams

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