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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.)

Aim: The present study explored the association between comprehensive health literacy and frailty level in community-dwelling older adults in Japan., Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. We enrolled 517 community-dwelling older adults (mean age 73.2 ± 6.3 years; 410 women). We divided the cohort into two groups, non-frail and any-frail, based on Fried Frailty Index scores. We assessed comprehensive health literacy using a 14-item health literacy scale, and classified the participants as having high or low health literacy. We carried out multivariate logistic regression analysis in which the dependent variable was the presence of non-frailty and the independent variable was the presence of high health literacy. The analysis was adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, educational history and cognitive function., Results: There were 132 (25.5%) and 385 (74.5%) participants in the non-frail and any-frail groups, respectively. The analysis showed that high health literacy was independently associated with the non-frail group (odds ratio 1.64, 95% confidence interval 1.03-2.61)., Conclusions: The results showed that high health literacy was associated with non-frailty. This result implies that comprehensive health literacy might play a salient role in maintaining good health status in community-dwelling older adults in Japan. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 804-809., (© 2016 Japan Geriatrics Society.)

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: The association between subjective cognitive decline and falls has not been clearly determined.Aims: Our aim was to explore the effect of subjective cognitive decline on falls in community-dwelling older adults with or without objective cognitive decline.Methods: We included 470 older adults (mean age 73.6 ± 5.2; 329 women) living in the community and obtained data on fall history directly from the participants. Subjective cognitive decline was assessed using a self-administered question. Objective cognitive function was measured using the Mini-Mental State Examination. Statistical analyses were carried out separately for participants with objective cognitive decline and those without.Results: A multiple logistic regression analysis showed that, among participants without objective cognitive decline, subjective cognitive decline was positively associated with falls [OR 1.91; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.17-3.12; p = 0.01). Conversely, among participants with objective cognitive decline, subjective cognitive decline was negatively associated with falls (OR 0.07; 95% CI 0.01-0.85, p = 0.04).Discussion: The result suggests that the objective-subjective disparity may affect falls in community-dwelling older adults.Conclusions: The presence of subjective cognitive decline was significantly positively associated with falls among cognitively intact older adults. However, among their cognitively impaired peers, the absence of subjective cognitive decline was positively associated with falls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim The purpose of the present study was to explore the association between cognitive function and fear of falling in frail/non-frail older adults in a community setting. Methods We recruited 483 community-dwelling older adults aged 65 years and older (mean age 73.3 ± 5.1 years, 68.3% women). Fear of falling was assessed using a yes/no question, 'Are you afraid of falling?' Cognitive function was measured using the Mini- Mental State Examination. The five subscores of the examination were also recorded. We used the frailty criteria developed by the Cardiovascular Health Study, and divided the participants into non-frail and frail groups according to the number of affected domains. The statistical analyses were carried out separately for these two groups. Results A multiple logistic regression analysis showed that, in frail older adults, cognitive impairment was significantly associated with the absence of fear of falling ( OR 0.04, 95% CI 0.00-0.50, P = 0.012). In addition, a stepwise multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the score on the attention and calculation subsection of the Mini- Mental State Examination was positively associated with the presence of fear of falling in frail older adults ( OR 1.83, 95% CI 1.08-3.12, P = 0.026). In contrast, cognitive impairment was not associated with fear of falling in non-frail older adults. Conclusions The results suggest that cognitive impairment, especially that in executive function, is associated with the absence of fear of falling in community-dwelling frail older adults. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 232-238. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]