Short Physical Performance Battery or Chair Stand: Which Better Predicts Disability Among High-Functioning Older Adults?
Roberta de Oliveira Máximo, Mariane Marques Luiz, Sara Souza Lima and 3 others
PMID 40523646WHAT IT FOUND
In older adults who were independent and walked faster than 0.8 m/s, a chair stand time of 11.5 seconds or more or a Short Physical Performance Battery score of 11 or lower flagged higher future daily-living disability risk than common cutoffs.
Key findings
01In 2,386 older adults with no baseline IADL or BADL difficulty and gait speed over 0.8 m/s, SPPB scores of 11 or lower and chair stand times of 11.5 seconds or more were the best cutoffs for identifying incident IADL and BADL disability over eight years.
02The estimated changes in IADL and BADL scores over time were similar for participants with SPPB scores of 11 or lower and participants with chair stand times of 11.5 seconds or more compared with their counterparts.
03A sensitivity analysis of 1,413 adults with gait speed over 1.0 m/s confirmed similar disability risk results for SPPB scores of 11 or lower and chair stand times of 11.5 seconds or more.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study included only adults aged 60 years or older with no baseline IADL or BADL difficulty and usual gait speed above 0.8 m/s, so it does not apply to people who already have disability or walk slower. Of 2,386 participants, 78% were reassessed at four years and 68% at eight years, so loss to follow-up could affect the disability estimates. IADL and BADL difficulties were self-reported, which can introduce reporting bias. This was an observational analysis of prediction, not a treatment trial, so it cannot show that the chair stand or SPPB causes disability or that treating low scores prevents it.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The supplied publication types list NIH extramural and non-U.S. government research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read a chair stand time of 11.5 seconds or more as proof that a therapy will prevent disability. This was an observational prediction study, not a treatment trial.