Objective
Increasing evidence suggests that anorexia of aging can cause physical and mental
impairment. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between
anorexia of aging and measures of physical performance, muscle strength, and functional
status in older persons aged 80 years or older.
Methods
Data are from baseline evaluation of 364 subjects enrolled in the ilSIRENTE study.
The ilSIRENTE study is a prospective cohort study performed in the mountain community
living in the Sirente geographic area (L'Aquila, Abruzzo) in central Italy. Physical
performance was assessed using the physical performance battery score (SPPB), which
is based on 3 timed tests: 4-meter walking speed, balance, and chair stand tests.
Muscle strength was measured by hand grip strength. We defined anorexia as the presence
of loss of appetite and/or lower food intake. Analyses of covariance were performed
to evaluate the relationship of anorexia with physical function.
Results
In the unadjusted model, all the physical performance, muscle strength, and functional
measures showed significant associations with the presence of anorexia. After adjustment
for potential confounders (age, gender, BMI, number of diseases, depression, congestive
heart failure, lung diseases) these associations were weaker but still statistically
significant (physical performance battery score: subjects without anorexia 6.8, SE
0.2, subjects with anorexia 5.8, SE 0.4, P = .03; 4-meter walking speed: subjects without anorexia 0.5 m/s, SE 0.1, subjects
with anorexia 0.3 m/s, SE 0.1, P = 5.001 hand grip strength: subjects without anorexia 30.8 kg, SE 0.7, subjects with
anorexia 27.9 kg, SE 1.5, P = .03). Furthermore, relative to participants without anorexia, those subjects with
anorexia showed a significantly higher risk of developing disability after 2 years
of follow-up (hazard ratio 2.25; 95% confidence intervals 1.15–4.39).
Conclusions
Anorexia is common among community older subjects in Italy. Our results suggest that
among old-old subjects, the presence of anorexia is associated with impaired physical
performance and with a significant increased risk of incident disability, irrespective
of potential confounders.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: April 05, 2010
Footnotes
The authors have conflicts of interest pertaining to this article.
Identification
Copyright
© 2010 American Medical Directors Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
