Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 23, 2025

Breakfast Habits among Schoolchildren in the City of Uruguaiana, Brazil
Published on: July 29, 2020
Gender and education inequalities in dynapenia-free life expectancy: ELSI-Brazil
Viviane Santos Borges1, Mirela Castro Santos Camargos2, Fabíola Bof de Andrade1
1Instituto René Rachou. Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.
Objective:
To estimate the dynapenia-free life expectancy among community-dwelling older Brazilian adults and evaluate gender-related and educational differences.
Methods:
This is a cross-sectional study. The data were obtained from the Estudo Longitudinal da Saúde dos Idosos Brasileiros (ELSI-Brazil - Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging), conducted from 2015 to 2016 in Brazil. Dynapenia is defined as low muscle strength (< 27kg for men and < 16kg for women), measured with a handgrip dynamometer. The dynapenia-free life expectancy was estimated using the Sullivan method based on the standard period life table and dynapenia prevalence, stratified by age groups, gender, and schooling.
Results:
A total of 8,827 participants, aged 50 and over (53.3% women), were investigated. The prevalence of dynapenia was 17.7% among men and 18.5% among women. The women live longer and with more years free of dynapenia than men. Those in the higher education category (four or more years) presented an advantage in the dynapenia-free life expectancy estimates.
Conclusions:
The results of this study suggest the substantial impact of dynapenia on longer dynapenia-free life expectancy among older people. Understanding dynapenia prevalence and dynapenia-free life expectancy could assist in predicting care needs, as well as targeting efforts to delay the onset of complications related to it at older ages. Without the implementation of policy regarding dynapenia prevention, inequalities in health due to gender and socioeconomic status may continue to increase.
More Related Videos
03:35Determining Gender-Based Differences in Retinal and Choroidal Thickness in Underweight Individuals via Swept-Source Optical Coherence Tomography
Published on: December 1, 2023
10:08Surveying Low-Cost Methods to Measure Lifespan and Healthspan in Caenorhabditis elegans
Published on: May 18, 2022
Related Concept Videos
Bias in Epidemiological Studies
Socioemotional Experience and Gender Development
Applications of Life Tables
Life Tables
Longitudinal Studies
Close Relationships and Culture