Relación entre la dinamometría de mano y la circunferencia de pantorrilla con el índice de masa corporal en ancianos autovalentes

Abstract

Background: The control of the birthrate and the decrease of the mortality have unleashed a demographic aging. Nutritional status indicators are useless and in some cases it is not possible to determine the exact height or weight, making these indicators useless. Aim: To correlate the BMI with calf perimeter and muscle strength (dynamometry dominant and non-dominant). Methods: We studied 60 adults over 60 years old, with self-maintenance functional capacity. The subjects belonged to the "Circle of Retired Chilean Police" of Chillan city in Chile. The anthropometric measurements and dynamometry were obtained according to WHO specifications. We used correlation coefficients and ANOVA to determine the association between variables. Results: There was a weak negative relationship between dynamometry with BMI, r= -0.19 dynamometry dominant (p=0.332) and r= -0.11 dynamometry non-dominant (p=0.806), but a positive correlation was found between the calf perimeter and BMI, r= 0,64 (p<0.001). Conclusions: The data show the utility of calf perimeter as an indicator of nutritional status in the study of subjects, which was not observed with dynamometry.