Age-related Trajectories of Sit-to-stand Performance by Physical Activity Level: A Multicenter Study

Area of Science:

• Gerontology and Exercise Science
• Public Health and Epidemiology

Background:

• Sit-to-Stand Test (STST) performance naturally declines with age.
• The influence of habitual physical activity (PA) on age-related STST decline requires further elucidation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate age-related differences in three Sit-to-Stand Test (STST) protocols (5 repetitions, 30 seconds, 1 minute).
• To determine the association between varying physical activity (PA) levels and STST performance across different age groups.

Main Methods:

• A multicenter cross-sectional study involving 1283 participants (56% women, aged 18-80 years) across three countries.
• Participants were stratified into low, moderate, and high physical activity (PA) groups using the IPAQ-SF questionnaire.
• Age-related STST performance trajectories were analyzed using generalized additive models, adjusted for covariates, with age-equivalent advantages calculated.

Main Results:

• STST performance demonstrated a nonlinear decline with increasing age.
• Higher PA levels were consistently associated with better performance in repetition-based STST protocols (30s-STST and 1min-STST).
• Individuals with high PA showed an age-equivalent advantage of approximately 5-7 years for the 1min-STST and 3-5 years for the 30s-STST compared to those with low PA.

Conclusions:

• Age-related decline in STST performance is evident in this Latin American cohort.
• Higher levels of habitual physical activity are linked to superior STST performance, irrespective of sex, BMI, or smoking status.
• Maintaining higher physical activity may mitigate age-related functional declines as measured by the STST.