A simple “sit and rise” test is a good way of measuring someone’s overall state of health, according to study carried out in Brazil.
Researcher Dr Claudio Gil Araújo and colleagues at the Clinimex – Exercise Medicine Clinic in Rio de Janeiro – said the “sit and rise” test is reliable, does not require specific equipment and is safe, easy to apply in less than two minutes.
They say it can be used to measure the risk that someone is so unhealthy they could die within a specific time period.
The study – the first to demonstrate the prognostic value of the sitting-rising test – was published in the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention.
It involved 2,002 men and women, all of whom were aged 51 to 80 years. They were followed-up from the date of the baseline test until the date of death or 31 October, 2011 – a median follow-up of 6.3 years.
Before starting the test, each participant was told to try and sit down and get up again, using minimum support. The length of time taken was not a consideration.
Each of the two basic movements was assessed and was scored out of five – giving a maximum score of 10. A point was deducted for each support used, such as hand or knee.
Researchers found that the majority of the 159 participants who died over the study period (a mortality rate of 7.9 per cent), had low test scores, with only two gaining a composite, maximum score of 10.
Those with a composite score below eight had two to five times increased death rates over the study period, while those who scored eight to 10 had a very low risk of death during the same period.
“Even more relevant is the fact that a one-point increment in the score was related to a 21 per cent reduction in mortality,” write the researchers.
Dr Araújo said: “It is well known that aerobic fitness is strongly related to survival, but our study also shows that maintaining high levels of body flexibility, muscle strength, power-to-body weight ratio and co-ordination are not only good for performing daily activities but have a favourable influence on life expectancy.
“If a middle-aged or older man or woman can sit and rise from the floor using just one hand – or even better without the help of a hand – they are not only in the higher quartile of musculo-skeletal fitness but their survival prognosis is probably better than that of those unable to do so.”
Ability to sit and rise from the floor as a predictor of all-cause mortality. Brito LBB, Ricardo DR, Araujo DSMS, et al. Eur J Prevent Cardiol 2012. DOI: 10.1177/2047487312471759
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