Trajectories in muscular strength and physical function among men with and without prostate cancer in the health aging and body composition study

Authors

Alexander R. Lucas, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityFollow
Rhonda L. Bitting, Wake Forest Baptist Health
Jason Fanning, Wake Forest University
Scott Isom, Wake Forest University
W. Jack Rejeski, Wake Forest University
Heidi D. Klepin, Wake Forest Baptist Health
Stephen B. Kritchevsky, Wake Forest Baptist Health

Document Type

Article

Original Publication Date

2020

Journal/Book/Conference Title

PLoS ONE

Volume

15

Issue

2:e0228773

First Page

1

Last Page

14

DOI of Original Publication

10.1371/journal.pone.0228773

Comments

Originally published at https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0228773.

Funded in part by the VCU Libraries Open Access Publishing Fund.

Date of Submission

August 2020

Abstract

Objectives

To examine and compare changes in strength and physical function from pre- to post-diagnosis among men with prostate cancer (PC, [cases]) and matched non-cancer controls identified from the Health, Aging and Body Composition (Health ABC) study.

Materials and methods

We conducted a longitudinal analysis of 2 strength and 3 physical function-based measures among both cases and controls, identified from a large cohort of community living older adults enrolled in the Health ABC study. We plotted trajectories for each measure and compared cases vs. controls from the point of diagnosis onwards using mixed-effects regression models. For cases only, we examined predictors of poor strength or physical function.

Results

We identified 117 PC cases and 453 matched non-cancer controls (50% African Americans). At baseline, there were no differences between cases and controls in demographic factors, comorbidities or self-reported physical function; however, cases had slightly better grip strength (44.6 kg vs. 41.0 kg, p<0.01), quadriceps strength (360.5 Nm vs. 338.7 Nm, p = 0.02) and Health ABC physical performance battery scores (2.4 vs. 2.3, p = 0.01). All men experienced similar declines in strength and physical function over an equivalent amount of time. The loss of quad strength was most notable, with losses of nearly two-thirds of baseline strength over approximately 7 years of follow up.

Conclusions

Among both cases and controls, strength and physical function decline with increasing age. The largest declines were seen in lower body strength. Regular assessments should guide lifestyle interventions that can offset age- and treatment-related declines among men with PC.

Rights

© 2020 Lucas et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Is Part Of

VCU Healthcare Policy and Research Publications