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Physical activity, muscular strength, and polypharmacy among older multimorbid persons: Results from the KORA ‐Age study
Author(s) -
Volaklis K. A.,
Thorand B.,
Peters A.,
Halle M.,
Heier M.,
Strasser B.,
Amann U.,
Ladwig K. H.,
Schulz H.,
Koenig W.,
Meisinger C.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of medicine and science in sports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.575
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1600-0838
pISSN - 0905-7188
DOI - 10.1111/sms.12884
Subject(s) - medicine , polypharmacy , anthropometry , odds ratio , physical strength , grip strength , physical activity , odds , cross sectional study , physical therapy , gerontology , logistic regression , pathology
The purpose of this study was to examine whether physical activity ( PA ) and muscular strength ( MS ) are related to polypharmacy. Our cross‐sectional analysis was based on 711 patients with multimorbidity ( MMB ), aged 65‐94 years, who participated in the KORA ‐Age study. Participants underwent a face‐to‐face interview and extensive physical examinations including anthropometric measurements, registration of chronic diseases, determination of health‐related behaviors (smoking, alcohol intake, physical activity, etc.), collection of blood samples and measurement of hand‐grip strength. PP ha was defined as the use of >4 drugs and MMB as having ≥2 of 13 chronic diseases. Prevalence of PP ha was 44.6% (n=317), and a significant difference was found in the number of drugs used between participants with and without PP ha (7.2±2.1 vs 2.5±1.2, P <.001). Patients in the lower compared to the upper tertile of physical activity had a significantly increased odds to be on PP ha ( OR : 1.64, 95% CI : 1.05‐2.56, P =.031) after controlling for age, gender, BMI , family status, education, alcohol intake, smoking habits, number of diseases, hs‐ CRP , and telomere length. On the contrary, no significant association between muscular strength and PP ha was found ( OR : 1.04, 95% CI : 0.66‐1.63, P =.873) after multivariable adjustment. Among older persons with MMB , lower levels of physical activity, but not low muscular strength, are associated with higher odds of PP ha. Increasing the levels of physical activity appears to be highly recommended in order to potentially reduce the risk of PP ha among multimorbid persons aged 65 and older.