Publications by authors named "Veerle Knoop"

Purpose: Recently, handgrip, knee extensor and respiratory muscle strength were proposed as candidate biomarkers to assess the neuromuscular function of vitality capacity in older persons. This umbrella review aims to provide an overview of the available instruments and their measurement properties to assess these biomarkers.

Methods: The databases PubMed, Web of Science and Embase were systematically screened for systematic reviews and meta-analyses reporting on handgrip, knee extensor or respiratory muscle strength assessments, resulting in 7,555 articles.

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Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate the association of respiratory muscle strength with sarcopenia and its indicators in the oldest old.

Methods: Maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP), maximum expiratory pressure (MEP), and sarcopenia-related factors (handgrip strength and appendicular lean mass) were evaluated in a cohort of n = 286 (45.5% female) non-frail, community-dwelling persons aged 83.

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Background: Fatigue, low muscle endurance, muscle weakness and low-grade inflammation are strongly related to frailty at higher age. When signs of self-perceived fatigue and low muscle endurance are interrelated with low-grade inflammation at midlife, they might be used as early markers for frailty. This study investigated whether the interrelationships among self-perceived fatigue, muscle endurance and inflammation can be observed at midlife.

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This study aimed to describe the level of physical activity and its relation to fatigue and frailty during the COVID-19 pandemic in community-dwelling older adults aged 80 years and over. Three hundred and ninety-one older adults (aged 86.5 ± 3.

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Background: Vitality capacity (VC) is a key domain of intrinsic capacity (IC) and is the underlying biophysiological aspect of IC. Energy and metabolism (E&M) is one of the domains of VC. Fatigue is one of the main characteristics of E&M.

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Background: Knowledge opportunities lie ahead as everyday activities, social participation, and psychological resilience might be important predictors for frailty state transitioning in the oldest old. Therefore, this article aims to examine whether changes in basic-, instrumental-, advanced- activities of daily living (b-, i-, a-ADLs), social participation, and psychological resilience predict both a transition from robustness to prefrailty or frailty and vice versa among community-dwelling octogenarians over a follow-up period of one year.

Methods: To evaluate worsened and improved frailty transitions after one year in 322 octogenarians (M = 83.

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Autonomic dysfunction and frailty are two common and complex geriatric syndromes. Their prevalence increases with age and they have similar negative health outcomes. In PubMed and Web of Science we screened studies identifying a relationship between autonomic function (AF) and frailty in adults aged ≥ 65 years.

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Objectives: To investigate the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on quality of life (QoL), meaningful daily activities, and (pre)frailty in community-dwelling octogenarians.

Methods: Cross-sectional design with bivariate and multiple linear regression modeling using a stepwise approach examining the level of QoL during the COVID-19 lockdown in a group of 215 community-dwelling octogenarians (M = 86.49 ± 3.

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Intrinsic capacity, a crucial concept in healthy ageing, is defined by WHO as "the composite of all the physical and mental capacities that an individual can draw on at any point in time". Vitality capacity is considered the underlying physiological determinant of intrinsic capacity. To advance the measurement and monitoring of vitality capacity, a working group of WHO staff members and twenty experts representing six WHO regions was convened to discuss and clarify the attributes of vitality capacity and to develop a clear working definition of the concept.

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Background: Fatigue might influence the losses in activities of daily living (ADL). When fatigue parameters are present before the experience of losses in ADL and gait speed, they can be used as early warning signals. This study aimed to explore the predictive value of muscle endurance and fatigue on changes in ADL and gait speed in community-dwelling older adults aged 80 and older.

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Objectives: Understanding of prefrailty's relationship with limitations in activities of daily living (ADLs) moderated by psychological resilience is needed, as resilience might support ADLs' maintenance and thus protect against frailty. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the influence of psychological resilience (using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale; CD-RISC) on the relation between ADLs and frailty status of older individuals (i.e.

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Introduction: Low grip work and high feelings of self-perceived fatigue could be an early characteristic of decline in reserve capacity, which comes to full expression as physical frailty in a later stage. When grip work and self-perceived fatigue can be identified as characteristics differentiating between robustness and pre-frailty it might allow to identify pre-frailty earlier. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate whether the combination of grip work and self-perceived fatigue is related to pre-frailty in well-functioning older adults aged 80 and over.

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Objectives: To analyze prefrailty's relationship with limitations in activities of daily living (ADLs) and restrictions in social participation.

Method: Robust (Fried 0/4; = 214; = 82.3 years [ ±2.

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Objectives: Antihypertensive drugs (AHTD) and statins have been shown to have effects beyond their primarily designed purpose; here we investigate their possible effect on muscle performance and strength in older adults following a physical exercise programme.

Design: The Senior PRoject INtensive Training (SPRINT) study is a randomised, controlled clinical trial designed to evaluate the effects of physical exercise on the immune system and muscle performance in older adults.

Participants: In this secondary analysis, we included 179 independent participants (aged 65 years and above).

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Article Synopsis
  • The study explores how frailty and disability in daily activities (ADLs) are interrelated, identifying differences in how they are defined and measured across research tools.
  • A systematic search revealed that over half of the frailty instruments analyzed included ADL components, with basic, instrumental, and advanced ADLs being featured.
  • The findings suggest that the overlap between frailty and disability definitions could lead to confusion and unreliable research outcomes, raising concerns about the effectiveness of current assessment methods.
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Background: Ageing is associated with a decline in immune function termed immunosenescence. This process is characterized amongst others by less naive T-cells and more senescent phenotypes, which have been implicated in the pathogenesis of many age-related diseases. Thus far, reports regarding the long-term adaptation effects of exercise on T-cell phenotypes are scant and largely equivocal.

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Aging is characterized by a progressive decline in immune function known as immunosenescence. Although the causes of immunosenescence are likely to be multifactorial, an age-associated accumulation of senescent T cells and decreased naive T-cell repertoire are key contributors to the phenomenon. On the other hand, there is a growing consensus that physical exercise may improve immune response in aging.

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