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DOI: 10.1055/s-2004-824910
Three-Year Body Composition Variations in Elderly Subjects
Background: Cross sectional data show that aging is associated to sarcopenia. The aim of this study is to evaluate and compare longitudinal body composition changes between over-65y and over-75y old healthy subjects. The role of physical activity (PA) on body composition was also analyzed.
Method: Body composition was measured by DEXA (Hologic QDR-4500, Enhanced Whole Body 8.26a software version) at time 0 (T0) and 3 years later (T3). PA was evaluated by means of a standard questionnaire (1). Subjects were considered active if >10% of their energy expenditure was related to intense exercise (2). Statistical differences between T0 and T3 were analyzed by means of paired t-test.
Results: 191 volunteers were enrolled. Preliminary data at T0 and T3 are available for 120 of them (table). 59% of men and 49% of women were classified as physically active. Over-75 y women and men show a LBM loss, except active men who preserve their LBM.
|
Men <75y T0 |
(n=41) T3 |
Men >75 T0 |
(n=23) T3 |
Women <75 T0 |
(n=19) T3 |
Women >75 T0 |
(n=16) T3 |
BW (kg) |
75.3±10.7 |
74.9±9.9 |
72.5±4.1 |
72.7±7.3 |
67.4±12.6 |
69.2±13.7* |
63.4±9.0 |
62.8±10.0 |
LBM (kg) |
54.0±6.0 |
53.7±6.3 |
52.4±5.2 |
51.6±5.2* |
40.9±4.7 |
41.0±4.9 |
39.0±4.0 |
38.4±4.4* |
FM (kg) |
18.9±5.5 |
18.7±5.3 |
17.6±3.9 |
18.6±4.4* |
25.2±9.3 |
26.2±9.7 |
22.8±5.5 |
22.7±6.1 |
Mean±SD; T3 vs. T0 * P<0.01 |
Conclusions: In healthy aged people, despite a stable BW, LBM decreases after age 75 in both men and women. Physical exercise preserves LBM in over 75 y men, but not in women.
References: 1) Bernstein MS, 1999, Am J Public Health; 2) Ainsworth BE, 2000, Med Sci Sport Exercise