Association of physical performance and health-related factors among elderly Korean subjects

Background: Although there is substantial evidence indicating the importance of physical performance in older adults, not many studies have examined the association between physical performance and health-related factors for the elderly Korean population. Research question: To investigate the relationship between physical performance and health-related factors among elderly Korean people. Type of study: Cross-sectional study. Methods: A total of 360 Korean older adults (men=154 and women=206) age: 72.1± 5.7 years, were recruited from six different Old Adult Health Centres in Seoul, Korea. Six tests including chair standing (CST), get up and go (3 metres), standing reach (SRT), 6-minute walking, hand-grip, and the 1.6km walking test were performed. Serum levels of fasting glucose, insulin, triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C), HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C), and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were measured. Body composition was also measured. Results: The get up and go test was correlated with TG, lean mass, SBP and hip C (r = .15, r = -.264, r = .136, and r = .148). SRT was correlated with TG (r = -.15) and lean mass (r = .336). Significant correlations were also found for lean mass and WHR with hand-grip strength (r = .818 and r = .255). The 6-minute walking test was correlated with lean mass, fat mass, waist, and hip C (r = .421, r = -.159, r = -.144 and r = -.23). CST had a significant correlation with HDL-C, lean mass, fat mass, BMI, waist and WHR (r = .187, r = .183, r = -.18, r = -.134, r = -.157, and r = -.159). The 1-mile walking test was correlated with TG, insulin, HOMA-IR, lean mass, and fat mass (r = .176, r = .261, r = .254, r = -.23 and r = .213). VO2max was correlated with lean mass, TC, TG, TC/HDL, insulin, HOMA-IR, fat mass, BMI, resting HR, and hip C (r =.353, -.194, r = -.245, r = -.197, r = -.258, r = -.21, r = -.346, r = -.237, r = -.257 and r = -.191). Conclusions: Lean body mass was well correlated with all physical performance tests, and cardiorespiratory endurance was associated with body composition and metabolic parameters in older Korean adults.