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Association of sarcopenia and physical activity with functional outcome in older Asian patients hospitalized for rehabilitation

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Abstract

Background

Previous studies reported that sarcopenia and physical inactivity affected clinical outcome in older adults; however, the association with functional outcome has not been studied in a rehabilitation setting.

Aim

This study aimed to assess the association of sarcopenia and physical activity with the functional outcome in older hospitalized rehabilitation patients.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was performed in older patients consecutively admitted to convalescent rehabilitation wards. Sarcopenia was diagnosed based on the Asia Working Group for Sarcopenia 2019 criteria, and physical activity time (light-intensity physical activity, LIPA; moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, MVPA) was measured using an activity monitor with a triaxial accelerometer. The association of sarcopenia and physical activity with functional outcome, measured by the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) motor function, was determined using multiple regression analysis adjusted for age, sex, primary disease diagnosis, length of acute hospital stay, Charlson comorbidity index, body mass index, and mini-nutritional assessment-short form score.

Results

Out of 211 rehabilitation older inpatients [median (interquartile range) age 78 (11) years, 150 women (71%)], 104 patients (49%) were diagnosed with sarcopenia. Patients with sarcopenia had significantly lower LIPA (p < 0.001) and MVPA (p = 0.002) than those without sarcopenia. In multiple regression analysis, LIPA (β = 0.39, p < 0.001) and MVPA (β = 0.12, p = 0.02) were associated with FIM-motor function even after they were adjusted for confounding factors, including sarcopenia.

Conclusions

In rehabilitation older inpatients, sarcopenia and physical activity were independently associated with functional outcome, and physical activity was lower in sarcopenia patients than in those without sarcopenia.

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Date availability material

The datasets generated during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the individuals who participated in this study and the physical therapy staff of the Department of Rehabilitation, Nishi-Kinen Port Island Rehabilitation Hospital for their assistance.

Funding

Not applicable.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Rehabilitation, Nishi-Kinen Port Island Rehabilitation Hospital, Kobe, Japan

    Takuro Ohtsubo, Iori Yasumoto & Katsuhiro Ueno

  2. Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Nursing and Rehabilitation, Konan Women’s University, 6-2-23, Morikita-machi, Higashinada-ku, Kobe, Japan

    Masafumi Nozoe & Masashi Kanai

Authors
  1. Takuro Ohtsubo
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  2. Masafumi Nozoe
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  3. Masashi Kanai
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  4. Iori Yasumoto
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  5. Katsuhiro Ueno
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Contributions

Data acquisition, data analysis, and interpretation of the data analysis and has been involved in drafting the manuscript: Mr. TO. Study concept and design, data analysis, and interpretation of the data analysis and has been involved in drafting and reviewing of the manuscript: Dr. MN. Interpretation of the data analysis and review of manuscript: Dr. MK. Data acquisition and interpretation of the data analysis: Mr. IY. Conception of the study and interpretation of the data analysis: Mr. KU.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Masafumi Nozoe.

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Conflict of interest

None of the authors had a conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

The Research Ethical Committee of the Konan Women’s University approved the study.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all subjects.

Statement of human and animal rights

Study procedures were performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects.

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Ohtsubo, T., Nozoe, M., Kanai, M. et al. Association of sarcopenia and physical activity with functional outcome in older Asian patients hospitalized for rehabilitation. Aging Clin Exp Res 34, 391–397 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-021-01934-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-021-01934-8

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