Fitness, and Physical Disability in Community-Dwelling Elderly People

Background. Sarcopenia refers to the loss of skeletal muscle mass with aging. It is believed to be associated with functional impairment and physical disability. Objective. The purposes of this study were: (1) to compare the physical activity, muscle strength (force-generating capacity), cardiopulmonary fitness, and physical disability in community-dwelling elderly people with sarcopenia, borderline sarco-penia, and normal skeletal muscle mass in Taiwan and (2) to test the hypothesis that sarcopenia is associated with physical disability and examine whether the association is mediated by decreased muscle strength or cardiopulmonary fitness. Design. This was a cross-sectional investigation. Methods. Two hundred seventy-five community-dwelling elderly people (148 men, 127 women) aged 65 years participated in the study. The participants were recruited from communities in the district of Zhongzheng, Taipei. Predicted skeletal muscle mass was estimated using a bioelectrical impedance analysis equation. The skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) was calculated by dividing skeletal muscle mass by height squared. Physical disability was assessed using the Groningen Activity Restric