SHORT PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE BATTERY TEST AS A SUITABLE TOOL FOR EVALUATING OF PHYSICAL FITNESS IN OLDER PERSONS

Introduction: The ageing is associated with decline in maximal aerobic capacity and decrease of physical performance (PP). Reduced PP negatively influences quality of life, leads to development of geriatric frailty and is long term predictor of early disability and mortality.
The aim of the study: a) to identify older persons with clinically relevant decrease in PP (preclinical stage of frailty), who may benefit from multimodal interventions to prevent disability, b) to evaluate clinical usefulness of a new tool Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB).
Method: We used SPPB for evaluation of the cohort of elderly to assess their PP and risk of frailty.
Results: We examined a group of 145 older adults of the average 80.38 years of age (54 -101, SD 8.47). We found good PP in 35 persons (24.1%), 21 persons (14.5%) were identified as pre-frail and 89 (61.4%) as frail in high risk of future disability. In the whole sample the results of SPPB correlated significantly with nutritional status (MNA), activities of daily living performance (ADL) and cognitive capacity (MMSE) – [ρ = 0.514, 0.532 and 0.379 resp.]. The analysis of 3 age-related subgroups I-III (≥75years [ n=41], 76-85 years [n=62] and 86-101 years of age[n=42]) found statistically significant correlation among SPPB and MNA, ADL and MMSE in the group of the youngest elderly (ρ = 0.743, 0.7888 and 0.642 resp.), while in the middle group of age of 76-85 years SPPB correlated only with MNA (ρ = 0.418). There was no significant correlation between SPPB score and results of other mentioned tests in the oldest elderly over 85 years of age.
Conclusion: SPPB test is an effective tool for assesing physical performance in older population subjects. Using SPPB we identified the group of pre-frail elderly, that can profit the most from the interventional exercise programmes.