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Age-Related Declines in Knee Extensor Strength and Physical Performance in Healthy Hispanic and Caucasian Women

^a Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, University of Colorado, Boulder
^b Department of Medicine, Divisions of Cardiology and Geriatric Medicine, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver

Douglas R. Seals, Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, Campus Box 354, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309 E-mail: seals{at}spot.colorado.edu.

Decision Editor: John A. Faulkner, PhD

Hispanic women may undergo greater age-related reductions in physical functional capacity compared with Caucasian women. If so, a greater rate of decline in muscle strength with age could contribute. We tested this hypothesis in 82 healthy sedentary Caucasian (n = 37) and Hispanic (n = 45) adult women aged 21–78 years of similar socioeconomic status. Absolute one-repetition maximum (1-RM) strength of the knee extensors (KE) declined with advancing age in the Caucasian (r = -.55, p < .01) and Hispanic (r = -.45, p < .01) women; the rates of decline were similar in the two groups (-7% to 8%·decade^-1, p = .60). KE strength normalized for thigh fat-free mass (FFM) also declined with age in the Caucasian (r = -.52, p < .01) and Hispanic (r = -.41, p < .01) women, the rates of decline being similar (-6% to 7%·decade^-1, p = .66). For all functional performance tasks (10-m walk, stair ascent, stair descent, and chair stand), performance time increased with advancing age (mean of four tasks vs age: Caucasian, r = .64, p < .01; Hispanic, r = .56, p < .01). Absolute and normalized KE 1-RM were inversely related to the mean time for the four performance tasks (r = -.34 to -.58, all p < .01). Normalized KE 1-RM was the best independent predictor of the age-related decline in task performance in both groups. These cross-sectional findings do not support the hypothesis that Hispanic ethnicity per se is associated with a greater decline in KE strength and performance tasks associated with KE strength in healthy women.