SynthesisPloS one2011
Age and gender differences in physical capability levels from mid-life onwards: the harmonisation and meta-analysis of data from eight UK cohort studies.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 95 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
95 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effects of Tai Chi and Qigong on cognitive and physical functions in older adults: systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression of randomized clinical trials.BMC geriatrics · 2023Pooled it
- A Multi-study Coordinated Meta-analysis of Pulmonary Function and Cognition in Aging.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2019Pooled it
- Physical capability and subsequent positive mental wellbeing in older people: findings from five HALCyon cohorts.Age (Dordrecht, Netherlands) · 2014Pooled it
- Dysregulation of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis and physical performance at older ages: an individual participant meta-analysis.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2013Pooled it
- Telomere length and physical performance at older ages: an individual participant meta-analysis.PloS one · 2013Pooled it
- Associations between a polymorphism in the pleiotropic GCKR and Age-related phenotypes: the HALCyon programme.PloS one · 2013Pooled it
- The dynamic relationship between physical function and cognition in longitudinal aging cohorts.Epidemiologic reviews · 2013Pooled it
- An Algorithm for Creating Virtual Controls Using Integrated and Harmonized Longitudinal Data.Evaluation & the health professions · 2018Trial
- Effects of Isotemporal Substitution Analysis of Sedentary Behavior, Sleep, and Physical Activity on Physical Performance in Older Adults.Journal of prevention (2022) · 2026Article
- Effects of age, sex, and sensory information on balance performance in young and older adults.Frontiers in aging · 2026Article
- Cross-sectional associations of proteomic age acceleration with self-reported physical and mental health and depression symptoms among those with and without cancer.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2025Article
- Article
- Handgrip Strength and Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate in a Frailty Unit: A Retrospective Study.Cureus · 2024Article
- A General Primer for Data Harmonization.Scientific data · 2024Article
- Association of Handgrip Strength and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Among Middle-Aged Postmenopausal Women: An Analysis of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2014-2019.Vascular health and risk management · 2024Article
- Hand Grip Strength, Osteoporosis, and Quality of Life in Middle-Aged and Older Adults.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023Article
- Lower limb muscle strength and balance in older adults with a distal radius fracture: a systematic review.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2023Observational
- The Relationship between Handgrip Strength, Timed Up-and-Go, and Mild Cognitive Impairment in Older People during COVID-19 Pandemic Restrictions.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Associations between diabetes status and grip strength trajectory sub-groups in adulthood: findings from over 16 years of follow-up in the MRC National Survey of Health and Development.BMC geriatrics · 2023Article
- Prospective associations between hand grip strength and subsequent depressive symptoms in men and women aged 50 years and older: insights from the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe.Frontiers in medicine · 2023Article
35 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
16 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Using data from eight UK cohorts participating in the Healthy Ageing across the Life Course (HALCyon) research programme, with ages at physical capability assessment ranging from 50 to 90+ years, we harmonised data on objective measures of physical capability (i.e. grip strength, chair rising ability, walking speed, timed get up and go, and standing balance performance) and investigated the cross-sectional age and gender differences in these measures. Levels of physical capability were generally lower in study participants of older ages, and men performed better than women (for example, results from meta-analyses (N = 14,213 (5 studies)), found that men had 12.62 kg (11.34, 13.90) higher grip strength than women after adjustment for age and body size), although for walking speed, this gender difference was attenuated after adjustment for body size. There was also evidence that the gender difference in grip strength diminished with increasing age, whereas the gender difference in walking speed widened (p<0.01 for interactions between age and gender in both cases). This study highlights not only the presence of age and gender differences in objective measures of physical capability but provides a demonstration that harmonisation of data from several large cohort studies is possible. These harmonised data are now being used within HALCyon to understand the lifetime social and biological determinants of physical capability and its changes with age.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.