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Purpose: Arterial stiffness is a subclinical marker of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The pre-frailty phenotype is associated with a higher risk for CVD. This study investigated the association between the pre-frailty phenotype and arterial stiffness in community-dwelling older adults without diagnosed CVD. Methods: In total, 249 community-dwelling older adults aged 60–80 years were included in this cross-sectional study. The pre-frailty phenotype was defined by the standardized Fried criteria (muscle weakness; slow walking speed; low physical activity; unintentional weight loss; self-reported exhaustion). Participants with one or two standardized Fried criteria were classified as pre-frail and those with zero criteria as robust. Arterial stiffness was measured by aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV). The data were analyzed using the generalized linear model. Results: From 249 participants (66.1 ± 5.3 years; 79.5% females), 61.8% (n = 154) were pre-frail and 38.2% (n = 95) robust. Pre-frail older adults had a higher aPWV (β = 0.19 m/s; p = 0.007) compared to their robust peers. Conclusions: The pre-frailty phenotype was associated with higher arterial stiffness in community-dwelling older adults aged 60–80 years. Pre-frail older adults may have a higher risk for CVD.

Although it has been suggested that increased arterial stiffness is linked to exaggerated blood pressure (BP) from brief moderate exercise, it is not clear whether this occurs in older adults with and without hypertension. This study investigates whether the immediate post‐exercise systolic BP following brief moderate exercise is associated with arterial stiffness in older females with different BP status. This cross‐sectional study included 191 older females aged 60–80 years without known cardiovascular disease (CVD). Arterial stiffness was determined by aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV). Systolic BP was measured before and immediately following a 3‐min moderate walking test (stage 1 Bruce protocol). Specific quartile‐based thresholds were used to define an exaggerated immediate post‐exercise systolic BP for hypertensive and normotensive older females (quartile 4 as an exaggerated response). Traditional CVD risk factors were assessed (covariates). Older females from the highest quartile of immediate post‐exercise absolute systolic BP showed higher aPWV compared to their peers from the lowest quartile (β = .22 m/s, p = .018). The quartile‐based threshold to define the exaggerated post‐exercise systolic BP was higher in hypertensive than in normotensive older females (174 vs. 172 mmHg). In summary, exaggerated immediate post‐exercise systolic BP following a brief moderate exercise is associated with higher arterial stiffness in older females with different BP status.

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Background Identifying low skeletal muscle strength (SMS), skeletal muscle mass (SMM) and skeletal muscle quality (SMQ) is pivotal for diagnosing sarcopenia cases. Age-related declines in SMS, SMM, and SMQ are dissimilar between the upper (UL) and lower limbs (LL). Despite this, both UL and LL measures have been used to assess SMS, SMM and SMQ in older adults. However, it is not clear whether there is agreement between UL and LL measures to identify older adults with low SMS, SMM and SMQ. Objective To investigate the agreement between UL and LL measures to identify older adults with low SMS, SMM and SMQ. Methods Participants (n = 385; 66.1 ± 5.1 years; 75,4% females) performed the handgrip strength test (HGS) and the 30-s chair stand test (CST) to assess UL- and LL-SMS, respectively. The SMM was assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). The UL-SMQ was determined as: handgrip strength (kgf) ÷ arm SMM (kg). LL-SMQ was determined as: 30-s CST performance (repetitions) ÷ leg SMM (kg). Results below the 25th percentile stratified by sex and age group (60–69 and 70–80 years) were used to determine low SMS, SMM and SMQ. Cohen’s kappa coefficient (κ) was used for the agreement analyses. Results There was a slight and non-significant agreement between UL and LL measures to identify older adults with low SMS (κ = 0.046; 95% CI 0.093–0.185; p = 0.352). There was a moderate agreement to identify low SMM (κ = 0.473; 95% CI 0.371–0.574; p = 0.001) and a fair agreement to identify low SMQ (κ = 0.206; 95% CI 0.082 to 0.330; p = 0.005). Conclusion The agreement between UL and LL measures to identify older adults with low SMS, SMM and SMQ is limited, which might generate different clinical interpretations for diagnosing sarcopenia cases.