Abstract
Background: Physical fitness levels and the amount of accumulated adipose tissue (fatness) relate to current and future individuals’ heath status. Nevertheless, the interrelationships of their combined patterns with polypharmacy and the types of medications consumed have not been sufficiently investigated. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in six Spanish regions between 2008 and 2009 with a sample of older community-dwelling adults (≥65 years old) without dementia or cancer. Fitness was measured with one-leg balance and senior fitness tests, as well as by measuring weight and fat mass with a bioelectrical impedance analyzer. Polypharmacy was defined as the use of five or more medications. An analysis of variance was performed for comparisons between the physical fitness and fatness patterns and the medication consumed. Results: A total of 1709 elders were included in the study (72.1 ± 5.2 years). The two unfit patterns were those with the highest drug consumption. The High-Fat–Unfit pattern was the one that had the most significant consumption and had the highest percentage of polymedicated subjects. The Low-Fat–Fit pattern had a significantly lower percentage of people that did not consume any medications. The highest percentages of drug consumption in 7 of the 10 groups that were included were concentrated in the two unfit patterns. Conclusions: This study highlights the importance of fitness in older adults, as it is at least as important as the avoidance of accumulation of excess fat with respect to the consumption of a smaller number of medicines.
Highlights
The physical fitness level and the amount of accumulated adipose tissue are both sensitive and specific biomarkers of physiological decline in older adults [1]
The descriptive characteristics according to the Fat–Fit patterns are presented in
The rate of polypharmacy was significantly higher in the HFat-Unfit pattern than in the fit patterns (p < 0.05, Figure 2)
Summary
The physical fitness level and the amount of accumulated adipose tissue (fatness) are both sensitive and specific biomarkers of physiological decline in older adults [1]. Drug consumption implies protective effects, and negative ones that are derived from drug–drug, drug–food, and drug–disease interactions, side effects, and/or inappropriate dosages of medications [8]. In this sense, polypharmacy—defined as coprescribing more than five medications [9]—negatively affects patient care by potentially increasing both healthcare costs and the risk of health-related issues, including falls, hospital readmission, longer hospital admissions, adverse drug reactions, and mortality [9,10,11]. Conclusions: This study highlights the importance of fitness in older adults, as it is at least as important as the avoidance of accumulation of excess fat with respect to the consumption of a smaller number of medicines
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