Identifying Older Adults at Risk of Accelerated Decline in Gait Speed and Grip Strength: Insights from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS)
Gait speed and grip strength are widely used measures of physical function in older adults and are predictive of disability, hospitalization, and mortality. However, there is a limited understanding of the long-term trajectories of these measures and which older adults are at the highest risk of fun...
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MDPI AG
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Journal of Ageing and Longevity |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-9259/5/2/19 |
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| author | David H. Lynch Hillary Spangler Jacob S. Griffin Anna Kahkoska Dominic Boccaccio Wenyi Xie Feng-Chang Lin John A. Batsis Roger A. Fielding |
| author_facet | David H. Lynch Hillary Spangler Jacob S. Griffin Anna Kahkoska Dominic Boccaccio Wenyi Xie Feng-Chang Lin John A. Batsis Roger A. Fielding |
| author_sort | David H. Lynch |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Gait speed and grip strength are widely used measures of physical function in older adults and are predictive of disability, hospitalization, and mortality. However, there is a limited understanding of the long-term trajectories of these measures and which older adults are at the highest risk of functional decline. We used data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) to identify subgroups of community-dwelling older adults with distinct 10-year trajectories in gait speed and grip strength and to examine the baseline factors associated with these patterns. The sample included 4961 adults aged 65 years and older who completed gait speed and grip strength assessments in 2011 and at least one subsequent wave between 2013 and 2021. Using latent class growth analysis, we identified three trajectories for each measure: worsening, stable, and improving. More than one-third of participants were in the worsening group for at least one measure. In multinomial logistic regression models, lower income, Medicaid coverage, cognitive impairment, and multiple chronic conditions were associated with membership in worsening trajectory groups. These findings highlight the heterogeneity of physical aging and the importance of the early identification of older adults who may benefit from targeted interventions to maintain function and independence over time. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7ba79f8ff86943f5af9e27ed36fe6780 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2673-9259 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Ageing and Longevity |
| spelling | doaj-art-7ba79f8ff86943f5af9e27ed36fe67802025-08-20T03:24:36ZengMDPI AGJournal of Ageing and Longevity2673-92592025-06-01521910.3390/jal5020019Identifying Older Adults at Risk of Accelerated Decline in Gait Speed and Grip Strength: Insights from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS)David H. Lynch0Hillary Spangler1Jacob S. Griffin2Anna Kahkoska3Dominic Boccaccio4Wenyi Xie5Feng-Chang Lin6John A. Batsis7Roger A. Fielding8Division of Geriatric Medicine, Center for Aging and Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USADivision of Geriatric Medicine, Center for Aging and Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USADepartment of Anthropology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USACenter for Aging and Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USADivision of Geriatric Medicine, Center for Aging and Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USADepartment of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USADepartment of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USADivision of Geriatric Medicine, Center for Aging and Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USADivision of Endocrinology and Metabolism, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USAGait speed and grip strength are widely used measures of physical function in older adults and are predictive of disability, hospitalization, and mortality. However, there is a limited understanding of the long-term trajectories of these measures and which older adults are at the highest risk of functional decline. We used data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) to identify subgroups of community-dwelling older adults with distinct 10-year trajectories in gait speed and grip strength and to examine the baseline factors associated with these patterns. The sample included 4961 adults aged 65 years and older who completed gait speed and grip strength assessments in 2011 and at least one subsequent wave between 2013 and 2021. Using latent class growth analysis, we identified three trajectories for each measure: worsening, stable, and improving. More than one-third of participants were in the worsening group for at least one measure. In multinomial logistic regression models, lower income, Medicaid coverage, cognitive impairment, and multiple chronic conditions were associated with membership in worsening trajectory groups. These findings highlight the heterogeneity of physical aging and the importance of the early identification of older adults who may benefit from targeted interventions to maintain function and independence over time.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-9259/5/2/19gait speedgrip strengthfunctional declineolder adultsfrailtyNHATS |
| spellingShingle | David H. Lynch Hillary Spangler Jacob S. Griffin Anna Kahkoska Dominic Boccaccio Wenyi Xie Feng-Chang Lin John A. Batsis Roger A. Fielding Identifying Older Adults at Risk of Accelerated Decline in Gait Speed and Grip Strength: Insights from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) Journal of Ageing and Longevity gait speed grip strength functional decline older adults frailty NHATS |
| title | Identifying Older Adults at Risk of Accelerated Decline in Gait Speed and Grip Strength: Insights from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) |
| title_full | Identifying Older Adults at Risk of Accelerated Decline in Gait Speed and Grip Strength: Insights from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) |
| title_fullStr | Identifying Older Adults at Risk of Accelerated Decline in Gait Speed and Grip Strength: Insights from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Identifying Older Adults at Risk of Accelerated Decline in Gait Speed and Grip Strength: Insights from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) |
| title_short | Identifying Older Adults at Risk of Accelerated Decline in Gait Speed and Grip Strength: Insights from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) |
| title_sort | identifying older adults at risk of accelerated decline in gait speed and grip strength insights from the national health and aging trends study nhats |
| topic | gait speed grip strength functional decline older adults frailty NHATS |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-9259/5/2/19 |
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