Aging Research Center, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm University, Solna, Sweden.
Centro di Medicina dell'Invecchiamento, 11 IRCCS Fondazione Policlinico "A. Gemelli" and Catholic University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Aging Clin Exp Res. 2022 Jan;34(1):235-247. doi: 10.1007/s40520-021-02006-7. Epub 2021 Oct 30.
One's physical function and physical activity levels can predispose or protect from the development of respiratory infections. We aimed to explore the associations between pre-pandemic levels of physical function and physical activity and the development of COVID-19-like symptoms in Swedish older adults.
We analyzed data from 904 individuals aged ≥ 68 years from the population-based Swedish National study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen. COVID-19-like symptoms were assessed by phone interview (March-June 2020) and included fever, cough, sore throat and/or a cold, headache, pain in muscles, legs and joints, loss of taste and/or odor, breathing difficulties, chest pain, gastrointestinal symptoms, and eye inflammation. Muscle strength, mobility, and physical activity were examined in 2016-2018 by objective testing. Data were analyzed using logistic regression models in the total sample and stratifying by age.
During the first outbreak of the pandemic, 325 (36%) individuals from our sample developed COVID-19-like symptoms. Those with slower performance in the chair stand test had an odds ratio (OR) of 1.5 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1-2.1) for presenting with COVID-19-like symptoms compared to better performers, after adjusting for potential confounders. The association was even higher among people aged ≥ 80 years (OR 2.6; 95% CI 1.5-4.7). No significant associations were found between walking speed or engagement in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and the likelihood to develop COVID-19-like symptoms.
Poor muscle strength, a possible indicator of frailty, may predispose older adults to higher odds of developing COVID-19-like symptoms, especially among the oldest-old.
一个人的身体机能和身体活动水平可能会导致或预防呼吸道感染的发生。我们旨在探讨流行前身体机能和身体活动水平与瑞典老年人群中 COVID-19 样症状发展之间的关系。
我们分析了来自人口基础上的瑞典 Kungsholmen 老龄化和护理研究中的 904 名年龄≥68 岁的个体的数据。通过电话访谈（2020 年 3 月至 6 月）评估 COVID-19 样症状，包括发热、咳嗽、喉咙痛和/或感冒、头痛、肌肉疼痛、腿部和关节疼痛、味觉和/或嗅觉丧失、呼吸困难、胸痛、胃肠道症状和眼部炎症。肌肉力量、移动性和身体活动在 2016-2018 年通过客观测试进行检查。使用逻辑回归模型在总样本和按年龄分层的样本中进行数据分析。
在大流行的第一次爆发期间，我们样本中的 325 人（36%）出现了 COVID-19 样症状。与表现较好的人相比，在椅子站立测试中表现较慢的人出现 COVID-19 样症状的比值比（OR）为 1.5（95%置信区间 [CI] 1.1-2.1），调整了潜在混杂因素后。在年龄≥80 岁的人群中，这种关联更高（OR 2.6；95%CI 1.5-4.7）。步行速度或从事中等到剧烈身体活动与出现 COVID-19 样症状的可能性之间没有显著关联。
肌肉力量较弱，可能是虚弱的一个指标，可能使老年人出现 COVID-19 样症状的几率更高，尤其是在最年长的老年人中。
