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Purpose: This study was aimed to determine associations of accelerometer-determined time and bouts of sedentary behavior, light physical activity (LPA), and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) with sarcopenia and incident falls over 12 months.

Methods: A total of 3334 Swedish 70-year-olds were assessed for sarcopenia, as defined by the revised definition of the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People. Assessments were based on low scores for appendicular lean mass (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry), hand grip strength, and the Timed Up and Go test. For 7 days after baseline, total time and total number of bouts (>10 min of continuous activity at a given intensity) of activity performed at sedentary, LPA, and MVPA intensities were assessed by accelerometer. Incident falls were self-reported 6 months and 12 months after baseline.

Results: Only 1.8% of participants had probable or confirmed sarcopenia. After multivariable adjustment for other levels of activity, only greater MVPA time was associated with a decreased likelihood of having low appendicular lean mass, low hand grip strength, and slow Timed Up and Go time as defined by the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People criteria (all p < 0.05), and only MVPA time was associated with lower likelihood of probable or confirmed sarcopenia (odds ratio = 0.80, 95% confidence interval: 0.71-0.91 h/week). Similar associations were identified for total number of bouts, with no evidence of threshold effects for longer duration of bouts of MVPA. A total of 14% of participants reported >1 fall, but neither total time nor bouts of activity was associated with incident falls (all p > 0.05).

Conclusion: Higher amounts of accelerometer-determined MVPA are consistently associated with a decreased likelihood of sarcopenia and its components, regardless of the length of bouts or amounts of sedentary behavior.

Background: We aimed to determine the effectiveness of 4 weeks of balance exercise compared with no intervention on objectively measured postural sway. Methods: This was a single-center parallel randomized controlled, open label, trial. A six-sided dice was used for allocation at a 1:1-ratio between exercise and control. The trial was performed at a university hospital clinic in Sweden and recruited community-dwelling older adults with documented postural instability. The intervention consisted of progressively challenging balance exercise three times per week, during 4 weeks, with follow-up at week five. Main outcome measures were objective postural sway length during eyes open and eyes closed conditions. Results: Sixty-five participants aged 70 years (balance exercise n = 32; no intervention n = 33) were randomized. 14 participants were excluded from analysis because of early dropout before follow-up at week five, leaving 51 (n = 22; n = 29) participants for analysis. No significant differences were detected between the groups in any of the postural sway outcomes. Within-group analyses showed significant improvements in hand grip strength for the intervention group, while Timed Up & Go improvements were comparable between groups but only statistically significant in the control group. Conclusions: Performing balance exercise over a four-week intervention period did not acutely improve postural sway in balance-deficient older adults. The lower limit in duration and frequency to achieve positive effects remains unclear. Trial registration: Clinical trials NCT03227666, July 24, 2017, retrospectively registered.

Objective: Obesity is commonly defined by BMI rather than adiposity, which may have differential effects on musculoskeletal health. Musculoskeletal outcomes were compared in older adults with normal adiposity and normal BMI (NA‐NBMI), those with high adiposity but normal BMI (HA‐NBMI), and those with high adiposity and high BMI (HA‐HBMI).

Methods: In 3,411 70‐year‐olds, obesity was defined as BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 and adiposity as body fat percentage ≥ 25% (men) or ≥ 35% (women) from dual‐energy x‐ray absorptiometry. Bone parameters were measured by dual‐energy x‐ray absorptiometry and peripheral quantitative computed tomography. Sarcopenia was defined as low handgrip strength with or without low appendicular lean mass. Falls were self‐reported 6 and 12 months later.

Results: Prevalence of NA‐NBMI, HA‐NBMI, and HA‐HBMI was 14.2%, 68.1%, and 17.7%, respectively. Compared with HA‐HBMI, HA‐NBMI had increased likelihood for sarcopenia (adjusted odds ratio: 3.99; 95% CI: 1.41‐11.32) and osteoporosis (2.91; 95% CI: 2.35‐3.61) but similar likelihood of falls (P > 0.05). HA‐NBMI had lower values for bone geometry parameters, as well as grip strength, than both NA‐NBMI and HA‐HBMI (all P < 0.05).

Conclusions: High adiposity without high BMI is more common than BMI‐defined obesity in older Swedish adults but does not provide similar protection from osteoporosis and sarcopenia.

The aim of this study was to compare bone structure parameters and likelihood of falls across European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP2) sarcopenia categories. 3334 Swedish 70-year olds had appendicular lean mass (normalized to height; ALMHt), lumbar spine and total hip areal BMD (aBMD) estimated by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Volumetric BMD (vBMD) and structure at the distal and proximal tibia and radius were estimated by peripheral quantitative computed tomography. Hand grip strength and timed up-and-go were assessed, and sarcopenia was defined according to EWGSOP2 criteria. Incident falls were self-reported 6 and 12 months after baseline. Only 0.8% and 1.0% of participants had probable and confirmed sarcopenia, respectively. Almost one-third of participants with confirmed sarcopenia reported incident falls, compared with 20% for probable sarcopenia and 14% without sarcopenia (P = 0.025). Participants with confirmed sarcopenia had poorer bone parameters (all P < 0.05) except endosteal circumference at the proximal radius and tibia, while those with probable sarcopenia had lower cortical area at the proximal radius (B = - 5.9; 95% CI - 11.7, - 0.1 mm²) and periosteal and endosteal circumferences at the proximal tibia (- 3.3; - 6.4, - 0.3 and - 3.8; - 7.5, - 0.1 mm², respectively), compared with those without sarcopenia. Compared with probable sarcopenia, confirmed sarcopenic participants had significantly lower lumbar spine and total hip aBMD, distal radius and tibia total vBMD, and proximal radius and tibia cortical vBMD, area and thickness (all P < 0.05). Swedish 70-year olds with confirmed sarcopenia demonstrate poorer BMD and bone architecture than those with probable and no sarcopenia, and have increased likelihood of incident falls.

OBJECTIVE: Sarcopenia has been defined as age-related loss of muscle mass and function. The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to examine the effects of a 10-week instructor-led resistance training program on functional strength and body composition in men and women aged 70 years with pre-sarcopenia.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Participants were randomized to either 10 weeks of a physical training regimen including optional nutritional supplementation (n = 36) or to a control group (n = 34) (ClinicalTrials.gov, no. NCT03297632). The main outcome was changes in the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) score. Secondary outcomes included the Timed Up and Go test, chair sit-stand time, lean body mass, and fat mass.

RESULTS: The intervention had no significant effect on SPPB in the total cohort (P = .18), when comparing changes in the intervention group with the control group. However, those given the intervention in the male subcohort increased 0.5 ± 0.4 (mean ± standard error for the difference) points in SPPB during follow-up (P = .02) compared to male controls. With respect to secondary outcomes, the intervention group decreased 0.9 ± 0.6 seconds in chair sit-stand time compared to controls (P = .01). Furthermore, the intervention resulted in significantly greater improvements for the training group than control group in all measures of body composition (P ≤ .01 for all). For example, lean body mass increased by a mean of 1147 ± 282 g (P < .001), and total fat mass decreased by a mean of 553 ± 225 g (P = .003), favoring the intervention group.

CONCLUSION/IMPLICATIONS: The main finding of this intervention study is that an easy-to-use, functional resistance training program was effective in maintaining functional strength and increasing muscle mass in older adults with pre-sarcopenia.

BACKGROUND: Lower skeletal muscle density, indicating greater infiltration of adipose tissue into muscles, is associated with higher fracture risk in older adults. We aimed to determine whether mid-calf muscle density is associated with falls risk and bone health in community-dwelling older adults.

METHODS: 2214 community-dwelling men and women who participated in the Healthy Ageing Initiative (Sweden) study at age 70 were included in this analysis. Mid-calf muscle density (mg/cm³) at the proximal tibia, and volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD) and architecture at the distal and proximal tibia and radius, were assessed by peripheral quantitative computed tomography. Whole-body lean and fat mass, lumbar spine and total hip areal bone mineral density (aBMD) were assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Participants completed seven-day accelerometer measurements of physical activity intensity, and self-reported falls data were collected 6 and 12 months later.

RESULTS: 302 (13.5%) participants reported a fall at the 6- or 12-month interview, and 29 (1.3%) reported a fall at both interviews. After adjustment for confounders, each standard deviation decrease in mid-calf muscle density was associated with a trend towards greater likelihood of experiencing a fall (OR 1.13; 95% CI 1.00, 1.29 per SD lower) and significantly greater likelihood of multiple falls (1.61; 1.16, 2.23). Higher muscle density was not associated with total hip aBMD, and was associated with lower lumbar spine aBMD (B = -0.003; 95% CI -0.005, -0.001 per mg/cm³) and higher proximal cortical vBMD (0.74; 0.20, 1.28) at the radius. At the tibia, muscle density was positively associated with distal total and trabecular vBMD, and proximal total and cortical vBMD, cortical thickness, cortical area and stress-strain index (all P < 0.05). Only moderate/vigorous (%) intensity physical activity, not sedentary time or light activity, was associated with higher mid-calf muscle density (0.086; 0.034, 0.138).

CONCLUSIONS: Lower mid-calf muscle density is independently associated with higher likelihood for multiple incident falls and appears to have localised negative effects on bone structure in older adults.

Background: Increased physical activity (PA) is ordinated to increase glycemic control in subjects with diabetes. We evaluated objectively measured as well as self-reported PA in elderly individuals with and without diabetes.

Method: The study included 1872 community-dwelling individuals (49% women), all aged 70 years. Objective PA was measured by accelerometers worn for 1 week. Physical activity patterns in subjects with and without diabetes were evaluated using multivariable adjustable regression models.

Results: In the cohort 210 subjects (138 men and 72 women) were found to have diabetes. Self-reported PA showed a weak association with objective PA (r = 0.06, p = 0.01).  Individuals with known diabetes had fewer steps per day (mean 5,754) than those with detected diabetes at baseline (mean 6,359) or no diabetes (mean 7,375, all p < 0.05). A cut-off value of at least 6,000 steps per day discriminated best between individuals with and without diabetes (multi-adjusted odds ratio (OR), 0.50, 95% CI, 0.36–0.69), and overall step-count also showed the strongest correlation with objective visceral adipose tissue (VAT, β = 0.29, p < 0.001). In contrast, objectively measured PA in at least 10-minute bouts, as recommended by WHO, did not discriminate between individuals with a without diabetes (OR, 0.92, 95% CI, 0.66–1.28).

Conclusion: Despite recommendations given to subjects with diabetes, objectively measured PA was more than 20% lower in elderly individuals with diabetes. Daily step-counts was also associated with VAT, a potential mediator of the effects of PA.

Introduction: Surveillance of physical activity at the population level increases the knowledge on levels and trends of physical activity, which may support public health initiatives to promote physical activity. Physical activity assessed by accelerometry is challenged by varying data processing procedures, which influences the outcome. We aimed to describe the levels and prevalence estimates of physical activity, and to examine how triaxial and uniaxial accelerometry data influences these estimates, in a large population-based cohort of Norwegian adults.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 5918 women and men aged 40–84 years who participated in the seventh wave of the Tromsø Study (2015–16). The participants wore an ActiGraph wGT3X-BT accelerometer attached to the hip for 24 hours per day over seven consecutive days. Accelerometry variables were expressed as volume (counts·minute^-1 and steps·day^-1) and as minutes per day in sedentary, light physical activity and moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA).

Results: From triaxial accelerometry data, 22% (95% confidence interval (CI): 21–23%) of the participants fulfilled the current global recommendations for physical activity (≥150 minutes of MVPA per week in ≥10-minute bouts), while 70% (95% CI: 69–71%) accumulated ≥150 minutes of non-bouted MVPA per week. When analysing uniaxial data, 18% fulfilled the current recommendations (i.e. 20% difference compared with triaxial data), and 55% (95% CI: 53–56%) accumulated ≥150 minutes of non-bouted MVPA per week. We observed approximately 100 less minutes of sedentary time and 90 minutes more of light physical activity from triaxial data compared with uniaxial data (p<0.001).

Conclusion: The prevalence estimates of sufficiently active adults and elderly are more than three times higher (22% vs. 70%) when comparing triaxial bouted and non-bouted MVPA. Physical activity estimates are highly dependent on accelerometry data processing criteria and on different definitions of physical activity recommendations, which may influence prevalence estimates and tracking of physical activity patterns over time.

Background We have previously shown that objective measurements of postural sway predicts fall risk, although it is currently unknown how limits of stability (LOS) might influence these results.

Research question: How integrated postural sway and LOS measurements predict the risk of incident falls in a population-based sample of older adults.

Methods: The sample for this prospective observational study was drawn from the Healthy Ageing Initiative cohort and included data collected between June 2012 and December 2016 for 2396 men and women, all 70 years of age. LOS was compared to postural sway with measurements during eyes-open (EO) and eyes-closed (EC) trials, using the previously validated Wii Force Plate. Fall history was assessed during baseline examination and incident falls were collected during follow-up at 6 and 12 months. Independent predictors of incident falls and additional covariates were investigated using multiple logistic regression models.

Results: During follow-up, 337 out of 2396 participants (14%) had experienced a fall. Unadjusted regression models from the EO trial revealed increased fall risk by 6% (OR 1.06, 95% CI 1.02–1.11) per each centimeter squared increase in sway area and by 16% (OR 1.16, 95% CI 1.07–1.25) per 1-unit increase in Sway-Area-to-LOS ratio. Odds ratios were generally lower when analyzing EC trials and only slightly attenuated in fully adjusted models.

Significance: Integrating postural sway and LOS parameters provides valid fall risk prediction and a holistic analysis of postural stability. Future work should establish normative values and evaluate clinical utility of these measures.