Assessing muscular power in older adults: evaluating the predictive capacity of the 30-second chair rise test

Niladri Kumar Mahato; Alexandria Davis; Janet E Simon; Brian C Clark

doi:10.3389/fragi.2024.1302574

Assessing muscular power in older adults: evaluating the predictive capacity of the 30-second chair rise test

Front Aging. 2024 Mar 6:5:1302574. doi: 10.3389/fragi.2024.1302574. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Niladri Kumar Mahato^{1

2

3}, Alexandria Davis⁴, Janet E Simon^{1

5}, Brian C Clark^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Ohio Musculoskeletal and Neurological Institute (OMNI), Ohio University, Athens, OH, United States.
² Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Athens, OH, United States.
³ College of Osteopathic Medicine, Marian University, Indianapolis, IN, United States.
⁴ Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ohio University, Athens, OH, United States.
⁵ School of Applied Health and Wellness, Ohio University, Athens, OH, United States.

Abstract

Background: Timed chair rise tests are frequently used as a substitute for assessing leg muscle strength or power. To determine if timed chair rise tests are an indicator of lower extremity muscle power, we examined the relationship between the repetitions completed in a 30-s chair rise test and the power generated during the test. Methods: Seventy-five individuals participated in this study (n = 30 < 65 years and 45 ≥ 65 years). Participants underwent a 30-s chair rise test while instrumented with a power analyzer. Handgrip strength was also evaluated. Results: The relationship between chair rise repetitions and average chair rise power was R ² = 0.32 (p < 0.001). Chair rise repetitions when regressed on a total (i.e., summed) chair rise power, it yielded R ² = 0.70 with data from all participants combined (p < 0.001). A mediation analysis indicated that anthropometrics partially mediates the relationship between chair rise repetitions and total chair rise power accounting for 2.8%-6.9% of the variance. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that in older adults, the overall performance of chair rises offers limited information about the average power per rise but is more indicative of the cumulative power exerted. Thus, the total number of chair rises in a 30-s test is likely a more comprehensive metric of overall muscular power, reflecting endurance aspects as well. Additionally, we found that personal physical attributes, such as height and weight, partially influence the link between chair rise count and total power, highlighting the importance of factoring in individual body metrics in assessments of muscular performance.

Keywords: dynapenia; muscle power; muscle strength; physical function; sarcopenia.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by grants from the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health (R01AG078129 and R01AG067758 to BC). The funder had no role in study design and conduct of the study; data collection, management, analysis, and interpretation; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; or in decision to submit the manuscript for publication.