Aims
The prevalence of sarcopenia amongst community dwelling older adults in Singapore ranges from 13.6% to 25%1. Sarcopenia is associated with adverse outcomes of increased risk of falls, hospitalisation and all-cause mortality2. There is an imperative need to develop programmes to combat sarcopenia in the community to delay the onset of frailty in older adults. Community Fall to Fit is an 8 weeks multicomponent programme encompassing multidomain exercises (resistant, balance, advance balance and dual task) and dietary education for bone and muscle health. We aim to study the impact of this programme on functional measures and falls risk in the older adults.
Methods
159 older adults participated in this prospective cohort study. Mean age was 77.2years ± 6.93 (60- 95) years.72.3% were females. Pre-intervention gait speed was 0.81m/s ± 0.21 (0.17- 1.32) and five times sit to stand was 11.7s ± 4.0 (0-25). Outcome measures were collected immediate and 3 months post intervention.
Results
There were statistically significant improvements in gait speed pre and post intervention (p= 0.001). At 3 months post intervention, there were statistically significant improvements in gait speed (p < 0.001) and five times sit to stand (p < 0.001). The number of falls at 3 months post intervention was reduced (p=0.07). Physical activity level of sedentary older adults was also increased at 3 months follow up (p= 0.006).
Conclusions
A multicomponent sarcopenia prevention programme is beneficial for community dwelling older adults. Further research should prove its value and benefit on health services utilization longitudinally.