Neuromuscular Performance in a Kansas Mennonite Community: Age and Sex Effects in Performance

Document Type

Article

Authors

Eric J. Devor, Washington University School of Medicine and the Jewish Hospital of S. Louis, St. Louis, MO and University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
Michael H. Crawford, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
Wayne Osness, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS

Abstract

The effects of age and sex on six neuromuscular performance traits are studied in a cross-sectional sample of 559 members of the Goessel, Kansas Mennonite community. Age and sex effects are assessed by stepwise polynomial regression which includes non-linear age terms up to the fourth power. Of the six traits studied only one, Hand Steadiness, fails to show a significant sex difference and only one, Trunk Flexibility, fails to show a significant non-linear trend with age. A general pattern, seen in these traits of accelerating performance decline after age 45 of up to 60%, is found to be consistent with that reported in other studies of the same traits. The consistency of this non-linear aging pattern suggests the presence of a general neuromuscular aging process. Moreover, this process appears likely to be related to a two-stage mechanism inferred from both animal and human studies involving a decline in protein synthesis and a loss of cell mass in nerve and muscle tissue.

Recommended Citation

Devor, Eric J.; Crawford, Michael H.; and Osness, Wayne (1985) "Neuromuscular Performance in a Kansas Mennonite Community: Age and Sex Effects in Performance," Human Biology: Vol. 57: Iss. 2, Article 7.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/humbiol/vol57/iss2/7