LONGITUDINAL TRAJECTORY OF DIFFERENT FITNESS-RELATED COMPONENTS IN COMMUNITY-DWELLING OLDER ADULTS
Physical Fitness, Aging, Six-Minute Walk Test, Time Up and Go.
The aim of this study was to verify the trajectory of physical fitness in different age groups of older adults and the factors associated with these changes. This is a four-year longitudinal study, conducted in the city of Natal – RN, with healthy older adults aged 60 to 75 years residing in the community. Physical fitness was verified through indicators of strength (sit-to-stand test, elbow flexion test, handgrip strength), power (absolute, relative, allometric and specific), balance and agility (Timed Up and Go test and Berg Balance Scale) and cardiorespiratory capacity (six-minute walk test). A total of 163 people were included (71% women; 27.7 km/m2) evaluated in 2018-19 and re-evaluated in 2022-23. Participants were categorized into three age groups (60-65, 65-70 and 70-75 years). Performance on the Six-Minute Walk Test decreased only in the youngest group (β=-35.8; IC: -58.9, -12.7), while the Timed Up and Go test decreased in 60-64 (β=0.7; IC: 0.4, 1.0), 65-69 (β=1.0; IC: 0.5, 1.5) and 70-75 (β=1.2; IC: 0.5, 1.8) years groups. No reduction was observed in any other indicator of physical fitness. Advanced age (+65 years), polypharmacy, and inadequate consumption of ultra-processed foods were associated with worse performance in the Timed Up and Go test, while physical inactivity was associated with worse performance in the Six-Minute Walk Test. Loss of balance occurs in all age groups of older adults, especially in the oldest old, those using polypharmacy, and those with inadequate dietary intake. Cardiorespiratory fitness, on the other hand, declines only in the oldest old, particularly those who are physically inactive.