The goal of a new study published in Geriatrics and Gerontology International was to identify factors related to the absence of musculoskeletal degenerative disease (MSD).

This prospective study entailed a multivariate logistic regression analysis on 1034 volunteers—444 men, 590 women of the mean age 63.5 years. Osteoporosis (percentage of young adult mean ≤70%), knee arthritis (Kellgren-Lawrence grade ≥2) and lumbar spondylosis (Nathan class ≥3) were examined. Participants were divided into those with and without MSD. Age, sex, body mass index, muscle strength, gait ability, pain, body balance, spinal sagittal alignment, geriatric syndrome (locomotive syndrome, frailty and sarcopenia) and QOL (Short Form Health Survey) were compared between these groups to identify factors associated with the absence of MSD.

The results revealed the following:

• Significantly lower age, body mass index and pain; higher gait speed, grip and back muscle strength; more stable body balance; better sagittal spinal alignment; and lower rates of locomotive syndrome, frailty and sarcopenia were found in the group without MSD - 43%, with significantly better QOL.
• In multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusted for age and sex, lower body mass index, lower spinal inclination, higher back muscle strength, no locomotive syndrome and good body balance were significant factors for the absence of MSD.

In inference, it was stated that factors related to an absence of MSD also correlate with good QOL, and should be a focus of health interventions in healthy middle-aged and older people.

Source: Imagama S, Ando K, Kobayashi K et al. Multivariate analysis of factors related to the absence of musculoskeletal degenerative disease in middle‐aged and older people. Geriatr Gerontol Int. 2019;19(11):1141-1146. doi:10.1111/ggi.13786