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

To describe age-related differences in Sit-to-Stand Test (STST) performance (5 repetitions, 30 s, and 1 min) and their association with PA levels.

We estimated age-related trajectories for 3 STST across physical activity (PA) strata defined by self-reported IPAQ-SF (low, moderate, high) and quantified the PA effects. In a multicenter cross-sectional study from 12 cities in three BLINDED countries (n=1283; 56% women; 18 to 80 y), performance was assessed with 5rep-STST (seconds), 30s-STST (repetitions), and 1min-STST (repetitions). Primary analyses used generalized additive models with a common age spline, adjusted for sex, BMI, and smoking; multiplicity-adjusted pairwise contrasts were computed. An age-equivalent advantage (high vs. low PA) was derived using a parametric bootstrap; distribution-aware models were tested for robustness. STST performance declined nonlinearly with age.

Higher PA was associated with better performance in repetition-based tests; 5rep-STST effects were small. In 1min-STST, high exceeded low by ~2.5 repetitions, yielding an age-equivalent advantage of ~5 to 7 years; for 30s-STST, advantages were ~3 to 5 years. Sensitivity analyses corroborated these findings.

In this Latin American cohort, STST performance declined nonlinearly with age but was consistently better in those with higher habitual PA, regardless of sex, BMI, or smoking.