Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Oct;70(10):1168-1173.
doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2016.90. Epub 2016 Jun 1.

Prevalence of weakness and its relationship with limitations based on the Foundations for the National Institutes for Health project: data from the Health and Retirement Study

J A Batsis  1   2   3   4   5   6 , C M Germain  2   3 , E Vásquez  7 , S J Bartels  2   3   4   5
Affiliations

Prevalence of weakness and its relationship with limitations based on the Foundations for the National Institutes for Health project: data from the Health and Retirement Study

J A Batsis et al. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2016 Oct.

Abstract

Background/objectives: The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of muscle weakness using the two 2014 Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) Sarcopenia Project criteria and its relationship with physical limitations, basic activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental ADL.

Subjects/methods: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of community-dwelling adults from the Health and Retirement Study 2006-2008 and identified a subsample of 5092 adults aged ⩾60 years with grip strength (GS) data. Self-reported physical limitations, basic ADL and instrumental ADL were assessed. Criteria for GS (men<26 kg; women <16 kg) and GS adjusted for body mass index (GS/BMI; men <1.0; women <0.56) were applied to the sample. We determined the prevalence of muscle weakness in each sex. Multivariable logistic regression was used to calculate the association of physical limitations, basic ADL and instrument ADL with weakness definitions in each sex.

Results: Mean age was 72.1 years (54.9% female). Mean GS was 38.3 and 22.9 kg and mean BMI was 29 kg/m2, respectively, in men and women. Weakness prevalence using GS and GS:BMI definitions were 7.8 and 15.2 (P<0.001), respectively, in men and 11.4 and 13.3% (P=0.04) in women. Overall prevalence of physical limitations, basic ADL limitations and instrumental ADL limitations was 52.9, 28.1 and 35.9%, respectively. In those with weakness, prevalence of physical limitations, basic ADL and instrumental ADL was 78.5, 42.3 and 65.3%, respectively, using the GS definition, and 79.7, 40.7 and 58.8%, respectively, using the GS/BMI definition. GS and the GS/BMI definitions of weakness were strongly associated with physical limitations (odds ratio (OR) 2.19 (95% confidence interval (CI): (1.67-2.87)) and 2.52 (2.01-3.17)), basic ADL (OR 1.59 (1.22-2.07) and 1.66 (1.32-2.07)) and instrumental ADLs (OR 1.98 (1.28-2.54) and 1.78 (1.44-2.20)).

Conclusions: The new FNIH guidelines for weakness are associated with higher prevalence of physical limitations, basic ADL impairments and instrumental ADL impairments as compared with individuals without weakness.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Prevalence of Impairments (Physical Limitations, Basic Activities of Daily Living and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living) in subjects with weakness aged ≥60years in the Health and Retirement Survey 2006-2008, based on the Foundation for the National Institutes on Health Sarcopenia Project Guidelines p-values represent the differences between Grip strength and grip strength:body mass index definitions.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mean Walking Speed in Subjects with and without Sarcopenia aged ≥60years in the Health and Retirement Survey 2006-2008, based on the Foundation for the National Institutes on Health Sarcopenia Project Guidelines. Error bars represent standard deviations P-values represent the differences between individuals with and without weakness (depending on the definition used)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Sayer AA, Syddall H, Martin H, Patel H, Baylis D, Cooper C. The developmental origins of sarcopenia. J Nutr Health Aging. 2008;12(7):427–432. e-pub ahead of print 2008/07/11; - PMC - PubMed
    1. Roubenoff R, Dallal GE, Wilson PW. Predicting body fatness: the body mass index vs estimation by bioelectrical impedance. Am. J. Public Health. 1995;85(5):726–728. e-pub ahead of print 1995/05/01. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Newman AB, Kupelian V, Visser M, Simonsick EM, Goodpaster BH, Kritchevsky SB, et al. Strength, but not muscle mass, is associated with mortality in the health, aging and body composition study cohort. J. Gerontol. A. Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. 2006;61(1):72–77. e-pub ahead of print 2006/02/04. - PubMed
    1. Visser M, Kritchevsky SB, Goodpaster BH, Newman AB, Nevitt M, Stamm E, et al. Leg muscle mass and composition in relation to lower extremity performance in men and women aged 70 to 79: The health, aging and body composition study. J. Am. Geriatr. Soc. 2002;50(5):897–904. doi: 10.1046/j.1532-5415.2002.50217.x. - PubMed
    1. Studenski SA, Peters KW, Alley DE, Cawthon PM, McLean RR, Harris TB, et al. The FNIH sarcopenia project: rationale, study description, conference recommendations, and final estimates. J. Gerontol. A. Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. 2014;69(5):547–558. e-pub ahead of print 2014/04/17; doi: 10.1093/gerona/glu010. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types