Exercise habits during middle age are associated with lower prevalence of sarcopenia: the ROAD study

• Published in: Osteoporosis international Vol. 25; no. 3; pp. 1081 - 1088
• Main Authors: Akune, T., Muraki, S., Oka, H., Tanaka, S., Kawaguchi, H., Nakamura, K., Yoshimura, N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Springer London 01.03.2014; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging - physiology; Anthropometry - methods; Body Mass Index; Cross-Sectional Studies; Endocrinology; Epidemiology; Exercise; Exercise - physiology; Female; Gait - physiology; Habits; Hand Strength - physiology; Humans; Japan - epidemiology; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle age; Middle Aged; Muscle Strength - physiology; Muscle, Skeletal - pathology; Musculoskeletal diseases; Older people; Original Article; Orthopedics; Prevalence; Rheumatology; Sarcopenia - epidemiology; Sarcopenia - pathology; Sarcopenia - physiopathology; Sarcopenia - prevention & control; Japan; Sarcopenia; Exercise; Physical performance; Elderly; Epidemiology
• ISSN: 0937-941X; 1433-2965
• DOI: 10.1007/s00198-013-2550-z

Summary The present cross-sectional study investigated the prevalence of sarcopenia and clarified its associated factors in 1,000 elderly participants of Japanese population-based cohorts. Exercise habit in middle age was associated with low prevalence of sarcopenia in older age, suggesting that it is a protective factor against sarcopenia in older age. Introduction The present study investigated the prevalence of sarcopenia using the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) definition, and clarified the association of sarcopenia with physical performance in the elderly participants of Japanese population-based cohorts of the Research on Osteoarthritis/osteoporosis Against Disability (ROAD) study. Methods We enrolled 1,000 participants (aged ≥65 years) from the second visit of the ROAD study who had completed assessment of handgrip strength, gait speed, and skeletal muscle mass measured by bioimpedance analysis. Presence of sarcopenia was determined according to the EWGSOP algorithm. Information collected included exercise habits in middle age. Results Prevalence of sarcopenia was 13.8 % in men and 12.4 % in women, and tended to be significantly higher according to increasing age in both sexes. Factors associated with sarcopenia, as determined by logistic regression analysis, were chair stand time (odds ratio [OR], 1.09; 95 % confidence interval [CI], 1.04–1.14), one-leg standing time (OR, 0.97; 95 % CI, 0.96–0.99), and exercise habit in middle age (OR, 0.53; 95 % CI, 0.31–0.90). Exercise habit in middle age was associated with low prevalence of sarcopenia in older age. Furthermore, linear regression analysis revealed that exercise habits in middle age were significantly associated with grip strength ( P  < .001), gait speed ( P  < .001), and one-leg standing time ( P  = .005) in older age. Conclusions This cross-sectional study suggests that exercise habit in middle age is a protective factor against sarcopenia in older age and effective in maintaining muscle strength and physical performance in older age.