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COMPARAISON OF FUNCTIONAL CAPACITY AMONG COMMUNITY-
DWELLING ELDERLY WOMEN AGED 60 YEARS AND OLDER FROM
THREE DIFFERENT COUNTRIES.
Émilia Kalinova1, Alain Steve Comtois1, Kiril Kostov3, Evgeni Kavdanski3, Edmundo
Alves de Drummond Jr4, Mario Leone2
1Kinanthropology Department, University of Québec in Montréal, Montréal, Canada.
2Sports Sciences Department, University of Québec in Chicoutimi, Saguenay, Canada.
3 Public Health and Sports Department, South-West University, Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
4 Physical Education Department, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Rio de Janerio,
Brazil.
OBJECTIVES: In most industrialised countries, the number of persons over 60 years is in
constant progression. This phenomenon may have major impacts on the level of the
functional capacity on these populations. However, it is very difficult to assess and
compare regional differences because of the lack of common and standardized tests to
evaluate functional capacity. Thus, based on the UQAM-YMCA test battery (UY) the
purpose of this study was to compare the functional capacity of older women from three
different countries. METHODS: 18 functional tests from the UY test battery were
administered to 120 women aged 71.0 ± 6.08 years (mean ± SD). This tests battery
allowed assessing six principal factors: static balance; speed of lower and upper limbs;
muscular strength; flexibility; walking capacity; simple reaction time. The participants
were evaluated in their own country (Canada n=44; Brazil, n=34; Bulgaria, n=42) by an
international team of researchers using the same tests protocol and materials. RESULTS:
The ANOVA revealed that all anthropometric variables (e.g. body mass, height and BMI)
were significantly different between the three countries (Tukey, p≤0.05). Among the
functional variables, 12 of the 18 variables were significantly different (Tukey, p≤0.05)
despite a no-significant age difference. Most of the differences among the 12 variables
are caused primarily by the Brazilian cohort (6 of 12 significant differences). Based on a
discriminant analysis, 82.7% of the women were classified correctly in the correct group
(e.g. Canada, Brazil or Bulgaria). On the 18 functional tests, the most discriminant
variables were: 1. One hand plate tapping; 2. Trunk rotation; 3. Body mass; 4. Elbow
flexion; 5. Vertical lid jar screwing; 6. Sit and stand. CONCLUSION: Even when the
same test protocol, tester and materials are used, many functional performance
differences are still present. This study stresses the need to built regional normative data
for each specific population.