This blog post explores the concept of powerpenia, a proposed new biomarker for healthy ageing. It dives into the existing terms used to assess age-related decline in physical function – sarcopenia (muscle loss) and dynapenia (muscle strength loss) – and argues for the need for a distinct term to address the decline in muscle power.
Key Points:
- Muscle power is more critical for physical function and preventing falls in older adults compared to muscle strength and mass.
- Existing terms, sarcopenia and dynapenia, don’t fully capture the decline in muscle power with age.
- The introduction of the term “powerpenia” is proposed to specifically address the loss of muscle power due to ageing, disease, or physical inactivity.
The Importance of Muscle Power in Aging
As we age, we become increasingly sedentary, which negatively impacts our skeletal muscle power and physical abilities. Researchers are looking for ways to identify early signs of decline to promote healthy ageing and maintain independence.
Current Biomarkers: Sarcopenia and Dynapenia
Two main biomarkers have been used to identify early decline in physical function:
- Sarcopenia: Refers to the loss of skeletal muscle mass with age.
- Dynapenia: Focuses on the loss of muscle strength due to ageing.
The Limitations of Dynapenia
While dynapenia acknowledges the importance of muscle strength, it doesn’t fully capture the decline in muscle power. Here’s why:
- Strength vs. Power: Strength refers to the force a muscle can produce, while power refers to the amount of work performed per unit of time. This requires both force and speed.
- Loss Rates: Muscle power declines faster with age compared to muscle strength. (Suetta et al.2019)
- Focus on Assessment:** Dynapenia criteria often rely on handgrip strength, not directly measuring power.
Introducing Powerpenia
The authors propose the term “powerpenia” to specifically address the age-related decline in muscle power. This distinction is important because:
- Better reflects functional decline: Power is more relevant for daily activities like climbing stairs or getting out of a chair.
- Identifies deficits earlier: Power loss may occur before strength loss. (Suetta et al.2019)
- Informs interventions: Training for power can improve physical function more effectively than traditional strength training. (Lopez et al. 2022)
The Future of Powerpenia
The concept of powerpenia is relatively new, and further research is needed to:
- Develop assessment methods: Determine the best way to measure powerpenia for clinical settings.
- Refine the concept: Explore the onset and rate of decline of power compared to strength and muscle mass. (Suetta et al.2019)
- Investigate clinical relevance: Understand how powerpenia relates to different diseases and health conditions.
Conclusion
Powerpenia offers a promising new way to assess age-related decline in physical function. By focusing on muscle power, researchers and healthcare professionals can better identify individuals at risk and develop targeted interventions to promote healthy ageing.