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
Comparative Study
. 2018 May 16;18(1):116.
doi: 10.1186/s12877-018-0812-5.

Muscle mass and muscle strength are associated with pre- and post-hospitalization falls in older male inpatients: a longitudinal cohort study

Jeanine M Van Ancum  1 , Mirjam Pijnappels  1 , Nini H Jonkman  1 , Kira Scheerman  2 , Sjors Verlaan  2 , Carel G M Meskers  3 , Andrea B Maier  4   5
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Muscle mass and muscle strength are associated with pre- and post-hospitalization falls in older male inpatients: a longitudinal cohort study

Jeanine M Van Ancum et al. BMC Geriatr. .

Abstract

Background: Low muscle mass and strength are highly prevalent in inpatients. It is acknowledged that low muscle mass and strength are associated with falls in community-dwelling older adults, but it is unknown if these muscle measures are also associated with falls in a population of older inpatients. This study aimed to investigate the association between muscle measures and pre- and post-hospitalization falls in older inpatients.

Methods: An inception cohort of patients aged 70 years and older, admitted to an academic teaching hospital, was included in this study. Muscle mass and hand grip strength were measured at admission using bioelectrical impedance analysis and handheld dynamometry. Pre-hospitalization falls were dichotomized as having had at least one fall in the six months prior to admission. Post-hospitalization falls were dichotomized as having had at least one fall during the three months after discharge. Associations were analysed with logistic regression analysis.

Results: The study cohort comprised 378 inpatients (mean age, SD: 79.7, 6.4 years). Fifty per cent of female and 41% of male patients reported at least one fall prior to hospitalization. Post-hospitalization, 18% of female and 23% of male patients reported at least one fall. Lower muscle mass was associated with post-hospitalization falls, and lower hand grip strength was associated with both pre- and post-hospitalization falls in male, but not in female, patients.

Conclusions: These findings confirm the likely involvement of muscle mass and strength in the occurrence of pre- and post-hospitalization falls in a population of older inpatients, but only in males.

Keywords: Accidental Falls; Aged; Hospitalization; Muscle strength; Sarcopenia.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of the VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. All included patients signed written informed consent.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart on the number of patients included for each assessment
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Cruz-Jentoft AJ, Baeyens JP, Bauer JM et al. Sarcopenia: European consensus on definition and diagnosis: Report of the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People. Age Ageing. 2010;39:412–23. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Peterson SJ, Braunschweig CA. Prevalence of Sarcopenia and Associated Outcomes in the Clinical Setting. Nutr Clin Pract. 2015;31:40–48. doi: 10.1177/0884533615622537. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Garcia-Pena C, Garcia-Fabela LC, Gutierrez-Robledo LM et al. Handgrip strength predicts functional decline at discharge in hospitalized male elderly: a hospital cohort study. PLoS One. 2013;8:e69849. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Vetrano DL, Landi F, Volpato S, et al. Association of sarcopenia with short- and long-term mortality in older adults admitted to acute care wards: results from the CRIME study. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2014;69:1154–1161. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glu034. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Landi F, Calvani R, Ortolani E, et al. The association between sarcopenia and functional outcomes among older patients with hip fracture undergoing in-hospital rehabilitation. Osteoporos Int. 2017;28:1569–1576. doi: 10.1007/s00198-017-3929-z. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types