Age and gender differences in physical capability levels from mid-life onwards: the harmonisation and meta-analysis of data from eight UK cohort studies

Abstract

Using data from eight UK cohorts participating in the Healthy Ageing across the Life Course (HALCyon) research programme, with ages at physical capability assessment ranging from 50 to 90+ years, we harmonised data on objective measures of physical capability (i.e. grip strength, chair rising ability, walking speed, timed get up and go, and standing balance performance) and investigated the cross-sectional age and gender differences in these measures. Levels of physical capability were generally lower in study participants of older ages, and men performed better than women (for example, results from meta-analyses (N = 14,213 (5 studies)), found that men had 12.62 kg (11.34, 13.90) higher grip strength than women after adjustment for age and body size), although for walking speed, this gender difference was attenuated after adjustment for body size. There was also evidence that the gender difference in grip strength diminished with increasing age, whereas the gender difference in walking speed widened (p<0.01 for interactions between age and gender in both cases). This study highlights not only the presence of age and gender differences in objective measures of physical capability but provides a demonstration that harmonisation of data from several large cohort studies is possible. These harmonised data are now being used within HALCyon to understand the lifetime social and biological determinants of physical capability and its changes with age.

Figure 1. Gender differences in mean grip strength (kg) adjusted for age, height and weight in the HALCyon cohorts (comparing women with men (reference category)).

The abbreviations of study names for figures 1–5 are: ABC1936: Aberdeen Birth Cohort 1936; Boyd Orr; CaPS: Caerphilly Prospective Study; ELSA: English Longitudinal Study of Ageing; HAS: Hertfordshire Aging Study; HCS: Hertfordshire Cohort Study; LBC1921: Lothian Birth Cohort 1921; NSHD: MRC National Survey of Health and Development.

Figure 2. Gender differences in mean chair rise time (ln(s)) adjusted for age, height and weight in the HALCyon cohorts (comparing women with men (reference category)).

Figure 3. Gender differences in mean walking speed (m/s) adjusted for age, height and weight in the HALCyon cohorts (comparing women with men (reference category)).

Figure 4. Gender differences in mean timed get up and go (TUG) speed (m/s) adjusted for age, height and weight in the HALCyon cohorts (comparing women with men (reference category)).

Figure 5. Odds ratios of inability to balance for 5 seconds comparing women with men adjusted for age, height and weight in the HALCyon cohorts.