Five-repetition sit-to-stand test performance by community-dwelling adults: A preliminary investigation of times, determinants, and relationship with self-reported physical performance

The 5-repetition sit-to-stand (STS) test is a widely used, but insufficiently evaluated, test for lower limb strength. We therefore described STS test times for a sample of community-dwelling adults, examined the association of age, gender, height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) with STS time, and determined the relationship of STS time with self-reported physical functioning. Ninety-four community dwelling adults participated. Repeated measures of STS time were reliable (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.957). The mean STS time for all 94 subjects was 7.6 seconds. Age, weight, and BMI were (r = 0.281-0.528), but gender and height were not (r = -0.074 - 0.007), correlated significantly with STS time. Regression analysis showed that age and BMI explained 43.7 percent of the variance in STS time. The correlation between STS time and physical functioning (r = -0.474) was significant (p < 0.001). Regression analysis showed that age and BMI added slightly to the explanation of variance in physical functioning provided by STS time. In conclusion, this study provides STS times that might be useful for interpreting performance of adults screened with the test. Such performance should be considered in light of age and BMI. The relationship of STS time with physical functioning provides evidence of the validity of the measure.