Abstract
Background
We developed the Locomonitor application (app), the world's first iOS app to study
locomotive syndrome, using the ResearchKit and examined the prevalence and risk factors
for locomotive syndrome in Japanese general individuals 20–69 years old in a nationwide
cross-sectional observational study.
Methods
The participants were recruited from February to August 2016. The outcome measures
for the locomotive function were evaluated by locomotive syndrome risk tests (LSRTs)
using the Locomonitor app. The chi-squared test, a linear-by-linear association trend
analysis, and Spearman's correlation test were performed as statistical analyses.
Results
A total of 2177 subjects from all prefectures in Japan were included (average 42.2
years old). The Locomo25 and Stand-Up test scores in female participants and the Two-Step
test scores in male participants showed age-dependent deterioration. In the overall
population, the incidence of Locomo stage 1 and 2, as evaluated by the Locomo25, Stand-Up
test or Two-Step test, was 30.2% and 29.2%, respectively. In subjects without locomotive
syndrome (40.5%), LSRT scores showed age-dependent deterioration in both sexes. Locomotive
syndrome in participants with a body mass index (BMI) of ≥25 kg/m2 was more frequent than in those with a BMI of <25 kg/m2 (age- and gender-adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.344 [95% confidence interval {CI} 1.03–1.75,
p = 0.027]). Locomotive syndrome in participants with an exercise habit was less frequent
than in those without an exercise habit (age- and gender-adjusted OR 0.499 [95% CI
0.33–0.755, p < 0.0001]).
Conclusions
The Locomonitor app, a newly developed remote platform, revealed that approximately
20%–30% of Japanese individuals 20–69 years old in the general population met the
definition of locomotive syndrome. Locomotive syndrome in participants with obesity
was more frequent than those without obesity, while locomotive syndrome in participants
with an exercise habit was less frequent than those without an exercise habit.
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Journal of Orthopaedic ScienceAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- The coming acceleration of global population ageing.Nature. 2008 Feb; 451: 716-719
- Global, regional, and national disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for 306 diseases and injuries and healthy life expectancy (HALE) for 188 countries, 1990-2013: quantifying the epidemiological transition.Lancet. 2015 Nov; 386: 2145-2191
- Current Situation and Implementation Measures FY.2013 ([Internet]. [cited 2018 Aug 13]. Available from:)
- A “super-aged” society and the “locomotive syndrome.J Orthop Sci. 2008 Jan; 13: 1-2
- Prevalence of locomotive syndrome in Japan: a nationwide, cross-sectional Internet survey.J Orthop Sci. 2014 Sep; 19: 792-797
- Population-based study of the association of osteoporosis and chronic musculoskeletal pain and locomotive syndrome: the Katashina study.J Orthop Sci. 2015 Nov; 20: 1085-1089
- Association between new indices in the locomotive syndrome risk test and decline in mobility: third survey of the ROAD study.J Orthop Sci. 2015 Sep; 20: 896-905
- Clinical trials: the challenge of recruitment and retention of participants.J Clin Nurs. 2010 Jan; 19: 227-233
- App-enabled trial participation: tectonic shift or tepid rumble?.Sci Transl Med. 2015 Jul; 7 (297ed10-297ed10)
- Cohort profile: research on osteoarthritis/osteoporosis against disability study.Int J Epidemiol. 2009 Aug; 39: 988-995
- App Store Connect - Support - Apple Developer.2018 ([Internet]. [cited 2018 Aug 13]. Available from:)
- Locomotive syndrome: definition and management.Clin Rev Bone Miner Metabol. 2016; 14: 56-67
- An outcome measure for Japanese people with knee osteoarthritis.J Rheumatol. 2005 Aug; 32: 1524-1532
- The concept and treatment of locomotive syndrome: its acceptance and spread in Japan.J Orthop Sci. 2011 Sep; 16: 489-491
- Questionnaire on specific health examination.2018 ([Internet]. [cited 2018 Aug 13]. Available from:)
- Apple HealthKit and health app: patient uptake and barriers in primary care.Telemed e-Health. 2016 Jul; 22: 608-613
- Development of a screening tool for risk of locomotive syndrome in the elderly: the 25-question Geriatric Locomotive Function Scale.J Orthop Sci. 2012 Mar; 17: 163-172
- Development of a screening program to assess motor function in the adult population: a cross-sectional observational study.J Orthop Sci. 2015 Sep; 20: 888-895
- Initial validation of mobile-structural health monitoring method using smartphones.Int J Distributed Sens Netw. 2015 Nov; 23: 913-919
- Personalized hypothesis tests for detecting medication response in Parkinson disease patients using iPhone sensor data.Pacific Symp Biocomput. 2016 Oct; 21: 273-284
- Asthma Mobile Health Study, a large-scale clinical observational study using ResearchKit.Nat Biotechnol. 2017 Apr; 527: 354-362
- GSK collaborates with Apple on ResearchKit.Nat Biotechnol. 2015 Oct; 33: 1013-1014
- The mPower study, Parkinson disease mobile data collected using ResearchKit.Sci Data. 2016 Mar; 3: 160011
- The Mole Mapper Study, mobile phone skin imaging and melanoma risk data collected using ResearchKit.Sci Data. 2017 Mar 14; 4: 170005
- Epidemiology of the locomotive syndrome: the research on osteoarthritis/osteoporosis against disability study 2005–2015.Mod Rheumatol. 2017 Jan; 27: 1-7
- Awareness of locomotive syndrome survey report.2016 ([Internet][cited 2018 Jul 14]. Available from:)
- Communications usage trend survey.2018 ([Internet]. [cited 2018 Aug 13]. Available from:)
Article info
Publication history
Published online: September 03, 2019
Accepted:
August 9,
2019
Received in revised form:
August 8,
2019
Received:
May 21,
2019
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 The Japanese Orthopaedic Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.