Physical activity, muscular strength, and polypharmacy among older multimorbid persons: Results from the KORA-Age study.
The purpose of this study was to examine whether physical activity (PA) and muscular strength (MS) are related to polypharmacy. Our cross-sectional analysis was based on 711 patients with multimorbidity (MMB), aged 65-94 years, who participated in the KORA-Age study. Participants underwent a face-to-face interview and extensive physical examinations including anthropometric measurements, registration of chronic diseases, determination of health-related behaviors (smoking, alcohol intake, physical activity, etc.), collection of blood samples and measurement of hand-grip strength. PPha was defined as the use of >4 drugs and MMB as having ≥2 of 13 chronic diseases. Prevalence of PPha was 44.6% (n=317), and a significant difference was found in the number of drugs used between participants with and without PPha (7.2±2.1 vs 2.5±1.2, P<.001). Patients in the lower compared to the upper tertile of physical activity had a significantly increased odds to be on PPha (OR: 1.64, 95% CI: 1.05-2.56, P=.031) after controlling for age, gender, BMI, family status, education, alcohol intake, smoking habits, number of diseases, hs-CRP, and telomere length. On the contrary, no significant association between muscular strength and PPha was found (OR: 1.04, 95% CI: 0.66-1.63, P=.873) after multivariable adjustment. Among older persons with MMB, lower levels of physical activity, but not low muscular strength, are associated with higher odds of PPha. Increasing the levels of physical activity appears to be highly recommended in order to potentially reduce the risk of PPha among multimorbid persons aged 65 and older.
Department of Prevention and Sports Medicine, Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Munich, Germany.|7FIT Cardiac Rehabilitation Center, Augsburg, Germany.
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http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6482-2199
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Volaklis
Institute of Epidemiology II, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.
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Thorand
Institute of Epidemiology II, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.
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Peters
Department of Prevention and Sports Medicine, Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Munich, Germany.|Else-Kröner-Fresenius-Zentrum, Munich, Germany.|DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Munich Heart Alliance, Munich, Germany.
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Halle
Institute of Epidemiology II, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.
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Heier
Division of Medical Biochemistry, Biocenter, Medical University Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
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Strasser
Institute of Epidemiology II, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.
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Amann
Institute of Epidemiology II, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.
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Ladwig
Institute of Epidemiology I, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.|Pneumology Center Munich (CPC-M), Member of the German Center for Lung Research, Munich, Germany.
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Schulz
DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Munich Heart Alliance, Munich, Germany.|Department of Internal Medicine II - Cardiology, University of Ulm Medical Center, Ulm, Germany.|Deutsches Herzzentrum München, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany.
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Koenig
Institute of Epidemiology II, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.
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Meisinger
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D000076322:Multimorbidity; D053580:Muscle Strength; D019338:Polypharmacy
multimorbidity; muscular strength; physical activity; polypharmacy