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Greater physical capability is associated with later mortality in elders, but whether the same is true in middle-aged adults is unknown. In a cohort study that involved 2800 middle-aged men and women, investigators in the U.K. determined associations between objective measures of physical capabilities (i.e., grip strength, chair rise speed, standing balance time, and a composite of all three measures) assessed at age 53 and risk for death.
During 13 years of follow-up, 177 participants died. Adjusted for multiple variables (e.g., sex, body-mass index, health status, lifestyle factors), all-cause mortality was significantly higher among participants in the lowest quintile of grip strength (hazard ratio, 2.0), standing balance time (HR, 2.5), …