Gait variables derived from trunk accelerometry may predict the risk of falls; however, their associations with falls are not fully understood. The purpose of the study was to determine which gait variables derived from upper and lower trunk accelerometry are associated with the incidence of falls, and to compare the discriminative ability of gait variables and physical performance.

Many musculoskeletal pain conditions are characterized by hypersensitivity, which is induced by central sensitization (CS). A questionnaire, the Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI), was recently developed to help clinicians identify patients whose presenting symptoms may be related to central sensitivity syndrome (CSS). The aims of the present study were to examine criterion validity and construct validity of the Japanese version of the CSI (CSI-J), and to investigate prevalence rates of CS severity levels in patients with musculoskeletal disorders. Translation of the CSI into Japanese was conducted using a forward-backward method. Two hundred and ninety patients with musculoskeletal pain disorders completed the resultant CSI-J. A subset of the patients (n = 158) completed the CSI-J again one week later. The relationships between CSI and clinical symptoms, EuroQol 5-dimension (EQ-5D) and Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), were examined for criterion validity. EQ-5D assesses Health-related QOL and BPI measures pain intensity and pain interference. The psychometric properties were evaluated with analyses of construct validity, factor structure and internal consistency, and subsequently investigate the prevalence rates of CS severity levels. The CSI-J demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.89) and test-retest reliability was excellent value (ICC = 0.85). The CSI-J was significantly correlated with EQ-5D (r = −0.44), pain intensity (r = 0.42), and pain interference (r = 0.48) (p < 0.01 for all). Ten percent of the participants were above the cutoff “40”. The exploratory factor analysis resulted in 5-factor model. This study reported that the CSI-J was a useful and psychometrically sound tool to assess CSS in Japanese patients with musculoskeletal disorders. The finding of the prevalence rates of CS severity levels in patients with musculoskeletal disorders may help clinicians to decide strategy of treatment.

Background: To date, very little is known about the nature of sarcopenia in subjects with cognitive impairment. The aims of this study were firstly to clarify the prevalence of sarcopenia at various stages of cognitive impairment, and secondly to examine factors related to sarcopenia in men and women with cognitive impairment. Method: The subjects were 418 outpatients (normal cognition; NC: 35, amnestic mild cognitive impairment; aMCI: 40, Alzheimer disease; AD: 343) who attended the Memory Clinic at the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology of Japan during the period from October 2010 to July 2014. Cognitive status, vitality, depressive mood, body mass index, hand grip strength, timed up and go test, skeletal muscle mass and serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, albumin and creatinine were assessed. Sarcopenia was defined as the presence of both poor muscle function (low physical performance or low muscle strength) and low muscle mass. We performed the univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses to explore factors associated with sarcopenia. Results: The overall prevalence of sarcopenia was 21.1% (NC = 8.6%, aMCI = 12.5%, AD = 23.3%). In both sexes, factors associated with sarcopenia were age (P < .01), body mass index (P < .001) and vitality (P < .05). In women, serum level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D was associated with sarcopenia (P < .05). Conclusion: Low vitality could be a dementia-specific risk factor for sarcopenia. Prevention of sarcopenia in patients with cognitive impairment should be approached from physical and psychologic points of view.

The number of geriatric patients with esophageal cancer has been increasing. Geriatric syndromes such as sarcopenia might adversely affect postoperative recovery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationships between sarcopenia and postoperative complications, and the associations between sarcopenia and perioperative functional changes in patients with esophageal cancer following esophagectomy. Participants comprised 104 patients who underwent esophagectomy from July 2011 to April 2015. Preoperative sarcopenia was diagnosed by the presence of low muscle mass and low physical functions according to Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia criteria. Low physical function was defined by loss of grip strength and/or slow walking speed. Postoperative pulmonary, cardiac, infectious, and surgical complications were extracted. Perioperative functional changes were calculated (value at postoperative day 30-value before surgery). For statistical analyses, both uni- and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. Twenty-nine patients (27.9%) were diagnosed with sarcopenia. The incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications was significantly higher in the sarcopenia group (37.9%) than in the non-sarcopenia group (17.3%; P=0.04). There was no relationship between sarcopenia and other complications or perioperative functional changes. Multivariate analysis identified sarcopenia (odds ratio (OR), 3.13; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.12-8.93) and high Brinkman index (OR, 3.46; 95% CI, 1.20-11.77) as independent risk factors for the development of pulmonary complications. The assessment of sarcopenia may be useful to predict the postoperative pulmonary complications following esophagectomy. On the other hand, sarcopenia does not predict cardiac, infectious, and surgical complications or perioperative function.