The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of physical performance tests (test battery) for assessing functional fitness required for activities of daily life in older persons with chronic disease. This test battery consisted of 4 items: arm curl, walking around two cones, moving beans with chopsticks, and functional reach. Seventy-one persons (aged 66.7±7.8 yr) with either hemiplegia, Parkinson's disease (PD), or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) served as subjects. There were significant differences among standard test scores in each rate of progression of the disease in all hemiplegia groups (Stages III, IV, V), and COPD groups (Stages 1, 2, 3) (Kruskal-Wallis'H=22.3 and 7.3, respectively) . In PD groups, there was no significant difference between standard scores in Stages II and III (Mann-Whitney's U=4.0) . However, the rank order correlation coefficient between the ranking in standard test score and the ranking in physical independence assessed by a medical doctor and a public health nurse was significant (ρ=0.57, P<0.05) . All tests were safely applied for all subjects. These results suggest that our test battery may be applicable to a majority of older persons with various chronic diseases. Furthermore, the variability of standard test scores was greater than the clinical subjective ratings by Stage, which suggests that such a classification may provide a better description of disease progress/functional fitness.

This study tested the hypothesis that effects of the menstrual cycle on resting blood pressure carry over to dynamic exercise. Eleven healthy females were studied during the early (EP; low estrogen, low progesterone) and late follicular (LP; high estrogen, low progesterone) menstrual phases. Stroke volume (SV), heart rate (HR), cardiac output (CO), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and total vascular conductance (TVC) were assessed at rest and in response to mild and moderate cycling exercise during EP and LP. During EP, compared to LP, baseline SBP (111+/-1 vs. 103+/-2 mmHg), DBP (71+/-2 vs. 65+/-2 mmHg) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) (84+/-2 vs. 78+/-1 mmHg) were higher and TVC (47.0+/-1.5 vs. 54.9+/-4.2 ml/min/mmHg) was lower (p<0.05). During exercise, absolute values of SBP (Mild: 142+/-4 vs. 127+/-5 mmHg; Moderate: 157+/-4 vs. 144+/-5 mmHg) and MAP (Mild: 100+/-3 vs. 91+/-3 mmHg; Moderate: 110+/-3 vs. 101+/-3 mmHg) were also higher, while TVC was lower (Mild: 90.9+/-5.1 vs. 105.4+/-5.2 ml/min/mmHg; Moderate: 105.4+/-5.3 vs. 123.9+/-8.1 ml/min/mmHg) during EP (p<0.05). However, exercise-induced increases in SBP, MAP and TVC at both work intensities were similar between the two menstrual phases, even though norepinephrine concentrations were higher during LP. Results indicate that blood pressure during dynamic exercise fluctuates during the menstrual cycle. It is higher during EP than LP and appears to be due to additive effects of simultaneous increases in baseline blood pressure and reductions in baseline TVC.
Arterial Pressure ; Blood Pressure ; Cardiac Output ; Estrogens ; Female ; Heart Rate ; Hemodynamics* ; Humans ; Menstrual Cycle* ; Norepinephrine ; Stroke Volume