"'Stand up, walk 6m, and sit down' Elderly taking more than 10 seconds face higher disability risk"

Seoul Asan Hospital Family Medicine Professor Son Gi-Young's Team
Elderly with Declined Walking Ability Have 1.6 Times Higher Disability Risk Than Normal
"Consistent Strength Training and Adequate Protein Intake Needed"

Professor Son Ki-young, Department of Family Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] A study has found that elderly people who take more than 10 seconds to stand up from a chair, walk 6 meters back and forth, and sit down again are at a higher risk of developing disabilities.

A research team led by Professor Son Ki-young of the Department of Family Medicine at Seoul Asan Medical Center tracked the walking ability and subsequent disability registration status of 80,000 elderly people aged 66 over a long period. They revealed on the 5th that elderly individuals with reduced walking ability had a 1.6 times higher risk of developing disabilities compared to those with normal walking ability.

Although previous studies have analyzed the correlation between elderly walking ability and disability occurrence, they had limitations as the presence of disability was inferred based on subjective criteria. This study is significant in that it objectively and strictly defined various disabilities using national disability registration data and demonstrated the correlation between decreased walking ability and actual disability occurrence.

The research team analyzed the results of the ‘Timed Up and Go (TUG)’ test and subsequent national disability registration status of 81,473 elderly people aged 66, based on the National Health Insurance Service’s health screening cohort data (2002?2015), over an average of 4.1 years (up to 8.9 years).

The TUG test is a comprehensive method to evaluate elderly individuals’ physical functions such as balance, leg strength, and walking speed. It is included in the health screening items for 66-year-olds, a transitional age in life. Test subjects stand up from a chair, walk 3 meters, turn around a marker, and sit back down. If the time taken exceeds 10 seconds, it is considered that physical function has declined.

Among the study participants, 29% recorded an average of 11.76 seconds on the TUG test, diagnosing them with decreased physical function. The group diagnosed as normal on the TUG test averaged 7.20 seconds, 4.6 seconds faster than the abnormal group. Long-term tracking of each participant’s national disability registration status showed that the disability incidence in the normal TUG group was 0.215 per 1,000 person-years (assuming 1,000 subjects observed for 1 year). In contrast, the abnormal TUG group had 0.354 cases, 1.6 times higher than the normal group. The types of disabilities varied, including brain injury, visual impairment, hearing impairment, speech impairment, and mental disorders.

Professor Son said, “This study is meaningful as it reveals, based on objective data from the TUG test and national disability registration, that decreased physical function in the elderly is associated with an increased risk of various disabilities in the future.” He added, “For elderly people transitioning from middle age to old age, it is necessary to accurately assess frailty through health screenings. If physical function is declining, it is important to consistently perform strength exercises such as squats and lunges that help strengthen the quadriceps, and to manage health thoroughly by consuming sufficient protein.”

This study was published in the SCIE-level international journal ‘Plos One.’

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.