Normative Values for the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) and Their Association With Anthropometric Variables in Older Colombian Adults. The SABE Study, 2015.

Robinson Ramírez-Vélez,Paula A Hernández-Quiñonez,Mikel L Sáez De Asteasu,Antonio García-Hermoso,Miguel A Pérez-Sousa,Fabricio Zambom-Ferraresi,David Rincón-Pabón,Carlos A Cano-Gutierrez,Mikel Izquierdo,Luis C Venegas-Sanabria

doi:10.3389/fmed.2020.00052

Abstract

Background: The short physical performance battery (SPPB) is a physical performance test of lower extremity function designed for non-disabled older adults. We aimed to establish reference values for community-dwelling Colombian adults aged 60 years or older in terms of (1) the total score; (2) the three subtest scores (walking speed, standing balance performance, and five times sit-to-stand test); and (3) the time to complete the five times sit-to-stand test, s and the walking speed test. Additionally, we sought to explore how much of the variance in the SPPB subtest scores could be explained by anthropometric variables (age, body mass, height, body mass index, and calf circumference).Methods: Participants were men and women aged 60 years or older who participated in the Health and Well-being and Aging Survey in Colombia, 2015. A sample of 4,211 participants (57.3% women) completed the SPPB test, and their anthropometric variables were evaluated. Age-specific percentiles were calculated using the LMS method (3rd, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, and 97th percentiles).Results: The mean SPPB total score for the entire sample was 8.73 (2.0) points. On average, the total SPPB score was 0.85 points greater in men than in women (p < 0.001). Significant sex differences were observed in all three age groups tested (60–69, 70–79, and 80+ years). In the full sample, our findings suggested that age, body mass, height, body mass index, and calf circumference are significant contributors to walking speed (p < 0.001) after controlling for confounding factors, including ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and urbanicity.Conclusions: Percentile values are of interest to identify target populations for primary prevention and to estimate the proportion of high or low values for SPPB measures in community-dwelling Colombians aged at least 60 years.

Highlights

Physical function (PF) is a key biomarker of disability, chronic disease, and mortality in older people [1]
Written informed consent was obtained from older adults, and the survey was reviewed and approved by the institutional review boards of the University of Caldas (ID protocol CBCS-021-14) and the University of Valle (ID protocol 09-014 and O11-015); the secondary analysis was approved by Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (ID protocol 20/2017-2017/180, FM-CIE-0459-17) in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki of the World Medical Association and with Resolution 8430
The normality of variables was verified with the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and probability plots

Summary

Introduction

Physical function (PF) is a key biomarker of disability, chronic disease, and mortality in older people [1]. One of the most commonly used measures of PF is the short physical performance battery (SPPB), a well-established instrument used to assess lower extremity function that was developed to identify the onset of disability in older adults [5] and that is often used in community-dwelling adults [6], nursing home residents [7], and hospital settings [8]. We aimed to establish reference values for community-dwelling Colombian adults aged 60 years or older in terms of [1] the total score; [2] the three subtest scores (walking speed, standing balance performance, and five times sit-to-stand test); and [3] the time to complete the five times sit-to-stand test, s and the walking speed test. We sought to explore how much of the variance in the SPPB subtest scores could be explained by anthropometric variables (age, body mass, height, body mass index, and calf circumference)

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