Age and Sex-Related Decline of Muscle Strength Across the Adult Lifespan: A scoping review of aggregated data
Elijah M.K. Haynes, Physiologie appliquée, nutrition et métabolisme, 2020
Muscle strength is sex-related and declines with advancing age yet, a comprehensive comparative evaluation of age-related strength loss in human females and males has not been undertaken. To do so, segmented piecewise regression analysis was performed on aggregated data from studies published 1990-2018 and available in CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO databases. The search identified 5613 articles which were reviewed for physical assessment results stratified by sex and age. Maximal isometric and isokinetic 60°s-1 contractions of the KE and KF from 57 studies and 15,283 subject (N=7918 females) had sufficient data reported on females and males for meaningful statistical evaluation to be undertaken.
The analysis revealed that isometric KE and KF strength undergo similar rapid declines in both sexes late in the 6th decade of life.
Yet, there is an abrupt age-related decline in KE 60°s-1 peak torque earlier in females (41.8 years) than males (66.7 years). In the assessment of KF peak torque, an age-related acceleration in strength loss was only identified in males (49.3 years).
The results suggest that age-related isometric strength loss is similar between sexes while the characteristics of KE and KF peak torque decline are sex-related which likely explains the differential rate of age-related functional decline.
Novelty • Inclusion of muscle strength and torque of KE and KF data from >15 000 subjects
• Isometric KE and KF strength loss are similar between sexes
• Isokinetic 60°s-1 KE torque decline accelerates 25 years earlier in females and female age-related KF peak torque decline does not accelerate with age