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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate which spatial and temporal parameters of the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test are associated with motor function in elderly individuals., Methods: This study included 99 community-dwelling women aged 72.9 ± 6.3 years. Step length, step width, single support time, variability of the aforementioned parameters, gait velocity, cadence, reaction time from starting signal to first step, and minimum distance between the foot and a marker placed to 3 in front of the chair were measured using our analysis system. The 10-m walk test, five times sit-to-stand (FTSTS) test, and one-leg standing (OLS) test were used to assess motor function. Stepwise multivariate linear regression analysis was used to determine which TUG test parameters were associated with each motor function test. Finally, we calculated a predictive model for each motor function test using each regression coefficient., Results: In stepwise linear regression analysis, step length and cadence were significantly associated with the 10-m walk test, FTSTS and OLS test. Reaction time was associated with the FTSTS test, and step width was associated with the OLS test. Each predictive model showed a strong correlation with the 10-m walk test and OLS test (P < 0.01), which was not significant higher correlation than TUG test time., Conclusion: We showed which TUG test parameters were associated with each motor function test. Moreover, the TUG test time regarded as the lower extremity function and mobility has strong predictive ability in each motor function test., (Copyright © 2017 The Japanese Orthopaedic Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: The purpose of this 1-year prospective study was to determine whether sarcopenia is an independent risk factor of cognitive deterioration in community-dwelling older adults., Study Design: One-year prospective study., Setting: Japanese community., Participants: A total of 131 community-dwelling older adults aged 65 years and older participated in this study., Measurements: We defined sarcopenia using the diagnostic algorithm recommended by the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia, and the participants were classified into the sarcopenia and normal groups according to this definition. The participants' cognitive functions were assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) during pre- and postdata collection (after 1 year)., Results: The rate of change in pre- and post-MMSE scores during the follow-up term was significantly different between the 2 groups (normal group, -0.32 ± 8.39%; sarcopenia group, -5.86 ± 5.16%; P = .002). The analysis of covariance, adjusted for demographic data and the pre-MMSE scores, showed a significant change in the MMSE scores between the normal and sarcopenia group (F = 9.30, P = .003). Furthermore, in the multivariate logistic regression analysis, the cognitive function was significantly more likely to deteriorate (defined as a loss of at least 2 points of MMSE) in the sarcopenia group during the follow-up term (odds ratio: 7.86, 95% confidence interval: 1.53-40.5)., Conclusions: Sarcopenia was identified as an independent risk factor of cognitive deterioration in community-dwelling older adults during the 1-year study period., (Copyright © 2016 AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: The aim of the Intervention by Nutrition and Exercise (INE) study was to investigate the effects of a mail-based intervention for sarcopenia prevention on muscle mass and anabolic hormones in community-dwelling older adults., Design: A cluster-randomized controlled trial., Setting and Participants: This trial recruited community-dwelling adults aged 65 years and older in Japan. The 227 participants were cluster randomized into a walking and nutrition (W/N) group (n = 79), a walking (W) group (n = 71), and a control (C) group (n = 77). We analyzed the physical and biochemical measurements in this substudy., Intervention: Six months of mail-based intervention (a pedometer-based walking program and nutritional supplementation)., Measurements: The skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) using the bioelectrical impedance data acquisition system, biochemical measurements, such as those of insulinlike growth factor (IGF-1), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S), and 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25[OH]D), as well as frailty, were assessed by the Cardiovascular Health Study criteria., Results: Participants in the W/N and W groups had significantly greater improvements in SMI, IGF-1, and 25(OH)D (P < .05) than those in the C group. Participants in the W/N group had significantly greater improvements in DHEA-S (P < .05) than in the other groups. These effects were more pronounced in frail, older adults., Conclusion: These results suggest that the mail-based walking intervention of the remote monitoring type for sarcopenia prevention can increase anabolic hormone levels and SMI in community-dwelling older adults, particularly in those who are frail., (Copyright © 2015 AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Frailty in older adults is a serious problem because of various adverse health outcomes in many countries with aging populations, such as Japan. The purpose of this study was to determine whether frailty and pre-frailty are associated with cognitive decline and sarcopenia in community-dwelling older adults., Design: This is a cross-sectional study., Setting: Japan., Participants: The participants were 273 Japanese community-dwelling older women aged 65 years and older., Measurements: We used the frailty criteria developed by the Cardiovascular Health Study to define physical frailty. We divided the cohort into nonfrail, prefrail, and frail according to frailty scores. Cognitive decline and memory decline were defined by using the Mini-Mental State Examination and Scenery Picture Memory Test, respectively. Sarcopenia was defined according to the diagnostic algorithm recommended by the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia., Results: In the multivariate logistic regression analysis by using non-frail participants as the reference, pre-frail elderly individuals were significantly more likely to have sarcopenia than non-frail elderly individuals [odds ratio (OR): 2.77, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05-9.26], but not cognitive decline or memory decline. Frail elderly individuals were significantly more likely to have cognitive decline (OR: 5.76, 95% CI: 1.20-27.6), memory decline (OR: 5.53, 95% CI: 1.64-18.7) and sarcopenia (OR: 19.1, 95% CI: 3.73-98.0) than non-frail elderly individuals., Conclusions: Sarcopenia was associated with pre-frailty and frailty, whereas cognitive decline was associated only with frailty., (Copyright © 2015 AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Sarcopenia, the age-dependent loss of skeletal muscle mass, is highly prevalent among older adults in many countries; however, the prevalence of sarcopenia in healthy Japanese community-dwelling older adults is not well characterized., Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of sarcopenia and to examine the association of sarcopenia with falls and fear of falling in community-dwelling Japanese older adults., Design: This is a cross-sectional study., Setting and Subjects: Healthy men (568) and women (1314) aged 65 to 89 years participated in this research., Measurements: For all participants, 3 measurements were taken: skeletal muscle mass measurement using bioelectrical impedance, 10 m at a usual walking speed, and handgrip strength. Sarcopenia was defined as the presence of both poor muscle function (low physical performance or low muscle strength) and low muscle mass., Results: The prevalence of sarcopenia, determined using the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People-suggested algorithm, in men and women aged 65 to 89 years was 21.8% and 22.1%, respectively. The prevalence of sarcopenia increased age-dependently, especially in those older than 75 years in both genders. In the young old, the prevalence of sarcopenia was higher in women than in men; however, in those older than 85 years, the prevalence of sarcopenia was lower in women than in men (P < .05). In addition, fall incidents and fear of falling were more prevalent in sarcopenic older adults than in nonsarcopenic older adults (P < .05)., Conclusions: These results suggest that sarcopenia is highly prevalent in community-dwelling Japanese older adults and is related to falls and fear of falling., (Copyright © 2013 American Medical Directors Association, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)