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
Review
. 2021 Oct 10;18(20):10612.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph182010612.

Short Physical Performance Battery as a Measure of Physical Performance and Mortality Predictor in Older Adults: A Comprehensive Literature Review

Caroline de Fátima Ribeiro Silva  1 , Daniela Gonçalves Ohara  1 , Areolino Pena Matos  1 , Ana Carolina Pereira Nunes Pinto  1 , Maycon Sousa Pegorari  1
Affiliations
Review

Short Physical Performance Battery as a Measure of Physical Performance and Mortality Predictor in Older Adults: A Comprehensive Literature Review

Caroline de Fátima Ribeiro Silva et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

The association between the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) score and several adverse health outcomes, including mortality, has been reported in the scientific literature. We conducted a comprehensive literature review of studies on the relationship between SPPB and mortality. The current paper synthesizes the characteristics and main findings of longitudinal studies available in the literature that investigated the role of the SPPB in predicting mortality in older adults. The studies (n = 40) are from North America, South America, Europe, and Asia; the majority (n = 16) were conducted with community-dwelling older adults and reported an association between lower SPPB scores and a higher risk of mortality, and between higher SPPB scores and higher survival. Nevertheless, few studies have analyzed the accuracy of the instrument to predict mortality. The only study that established cut-off points was conducted with older adults discharged from an acute care hospital. Although an SPPB score lower than 10 seems to predict all-cause mortality, further studies showing cut-off points in specific settings and loco-regional specificities are still necessary.

Keywords: aged; health of the elderly; longitudinal studies; mortality; survival analysis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There was no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Short physical performance battery—SPPPB. Source: Wall chart courtesy of Dr. Jack Guralnik.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distribution of longitudinal studies conducted with older adults on the SPPB and mortality according to research locations.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Association of mortality and survival according to SPPB categories (very low 0–3, low 4–6, intermediate 7–9, high 10–12).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division . World Population Prospects 2017: Volume II: Demographic Profiles. United Nations; New York, NY, USA: 2017.
    1. Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística . Coordination of Population and Social Indicators. Population Projections: Brazil and Federation Units: Review. 2nd ed. Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística; Rio de Janeiro, Brasil: 2018.
    1. Andrasfay T., Goldman N. Reductions in 2020 US life expectancy due to COVID-19 and the disproportionate impact on the Black and Latino populations. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 2021;118 doi: 10.1073/pnas.2014746118. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pifarré i Arolas H., Acosta E., López-Casasnovas G., Lo A., Nicodemo C., Riffe T., Myrskylä M. Years of life lost to COVID-19 in 81 countries. Sci. Rep. 2021;11:3504. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-83040-3. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Marois G., Muttarak R., Scherbov S. Assessing the potential impact of COVID-19 on life expectancy. PLoS ONE. 2020;15:e0238678. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0238678. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources