Accelerometer-measured physical activity and sample-based frailty in older women: does pattern really matter?

Abstract

The relationship between the patterns of physical activity (PA) and frailty, including its various subdomains, remains poorly understood. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the correlations between the patterns of physical activity and frailty and its various subdomains in community-dwelling older women. A cross-sectional study investigated the association between physical activity and frailty in 1,099 women aged between 60 to 70 years. Triaxial accelerometers were used to measure bouted PA (a minimum duration of 10 min) and sporadic PA (a duration of <10 min). Fried's frailty phenotype was utilized to evaluate the status of frailty. Data were analyzed using logistic regression and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Bouted moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and sporadic MVPA were associated with decreased odds of being prefrail and frail, and the optimal cutoff values were 6 and 19.7 for the prefrail stage and 6.6 and 19.4 min/day for the frail stage, respectively. Bouted light PA (LPA) was associated with decreased odds of being prefrail, and the optimal cutoff value was 170.2 min/day. Additionally, bouted and sporadic MVPA were associated with decreased odds of being slow and their optimal cutoff values were 5 and 19.1 min/day, respectively. Sporadic MVPA was associated with decreased odds of exhaustion, and the cutoff was 19.7 min/day. Bouted MVPA and LPA were associated with decreased odds of having low PA, and the cutoff values were 4.4 and 163.2 min/day, respectively. Any MVPA, regardless of bout duration, could be used as a suitable PA program to improve and prevent frailty in older women, such as bouted MVPA (4-5 times/week) or sporadic MVPA (20 min/day). The improvement effect of bouted and sporadic MVPA on the frailty of older people may not be affected by the subdomain. Additionally, bouted LPA was suitable for the management of prefrailty.