Overweight in elderly increases postural instability during sit-to-stand test: a Kinect-based assessment.

BACKGROUND: Being overweight increases the risk of falls and subsequent injuries. However, conventional functional balance tests may not be appropriate for this population as body weight can affect test performance. Thus, it is crucial to develop reliable methods for assessing balance ability in overweight individuals. AIM: The purpose of this study was to utilize a portable gaming device (Kinect Xbox 360) to measure the center of mass (CoM) of elderly individuals and compare the results between normal weight and overweight elderly women. METHODS: The study included 64 female elderly individuals who were divided into two groups: 32 normal weight and 32 overweight subjects, matched for age (matched pairs design). The study collected the body's CoM during the five-time sit-to-stand test (FTSST) using Kinect camera. Additionally, the participants underwent the time up and go test (TUGT) and one-leg standing balance (OLSB) tests. The Kinect Xbox 360 demonstrated high test-retest reliability for measuring body's center of mass sway, with ICC3,1 value of 0.982 in the vertical direction, 0.983 in the mediolateral (ML) direction, and 0.997 in the anteroposterior (AP) direction. Additionally, the technical error of measurement (TEM) was very low at 0.006, 0.002, and 0.004, respectively. The % coefficient of variation ranged from 1.31% to 5.68%, indicating good measurement consistency. RESULTS: Overweight individuals took longer to complete FTSST and TUGT compared to normal weight individuals, but no significant difference was observed in OLSB tests. Moreover, overweight elderly individuals had greater sway length in the ML and AP directions compared to normal weight elderly individuals. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Overweight elderly individuals had poorer balance than their normal weight counterparts when using Kinect camera. The researchers suggest that Kinect device can be a cost-effective alternative to measure balance performance among overweight elderly in the community-based setting.

Predictive Ability of the Three-Time Stand and Walk Test to Determine Frailty and its Associations with Fear of Falling and Cognitive Function in Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

BACKGROUND: The three-time stand and walk test (TTSW) is a complex functional task used to determine muscle strength, balance, and fall risk in older individuals. This study hypothesized that TTSW is an appropriate tool for detecting frailty related to falls and the cognition of community-dwelling older adults. The study objectives were to assess the ability of the TTSW to determine frailty by exploring the optimal cut-off score, and to investigate the correlations between TTSW outcomes with falls and cognitive function in 118 community-dwelling older adults. METHODS: The demographic data of eligible participants were assessed, and the participants were diagnosed with frailty based on the frailty phenotype. The participants then completed the Frail Non-Disabled (FiND) questionnaire, TTSW, Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I), and Mini-Mental State Examination Thai version (MMSE-Thai 2002). RESULTS: The results demonstrated that the TTSW outcomes were significantly correlated with FiND, FES-I, and MMSE-Thai 2002 (rho=0.705 and r=0.482 and =-0.510, respectively; p<0.001). Moreover, a TTSW time of 18 s or longer had a good ability to indicate frailty in older individuals (sensitivity=88.41%, specificity=83.67%, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC]=0.926). Conclusions: Implementing this tool in a community setting may be useful for the initial screening, monitoring, and referral of data by healthcare professionals. A cut-off TTSW time of 18 seconds or longer was the optimal criterion to indicate frailty in community-dwelling older people.

The optimal cutoff score of the 2-min step test and its association with physical fitness in type 2 diabetes mellitus.

This study was carried out to evaluate sensitivity, specificity, and test cutoff score to predict cardiorespiratory fitness by using the 2-min step test (2MST) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellites (DM). The association of the 2MST and physical fitness tests including a 6-min walk test (6MWT), a 5 time sit-to-stand test (FTSST), and leg strength in the form of a leg performance test were also investigated. This study was cross-sectional and conducted in 100 type 2 DM patients. Patients were screened through health questionnaires, medical illness, general characteristics, and physical fitness tests; 2MST, 6MWT, FTSST, and leg strength. Blood was collected for assessment of fasting blood sugar and lipid profiles. The number of steps in the 2MST was positively correlated with the distance of the 6MWT (r=0.6995, P<0.0001) and leg strength (r=0.4292, P<0.0001). 2MST was negatively correlated with time to perform the FTSST (r=-0.405, P<0.0001). Moreover, this study established the optimal cutoff score of the 2MST at ≤61 steps with 92.24% sensitivity, and 81.36% specificity to predict cardiorespiratory fitness in type 2 DM patients. Our findings indicate that the 2MST may be used as a predictor for walking capacity, leg strength, and ability to change position from sitting to standing in type 2 DM. In addition, this result may imply that patients with type 2 DM performing the 2MST at less than 61 steps was significantly associated with decreased cardiorespiratory fitness.