Abstract
BackgroundThe prevailing Western ideal of ageing in place, with the option to stay at home as one ages, has led to the development of physical activity guidelines for people of advanced age to increase their quality of life and promote their functional abilities. This study investigates the effect of self-reported health and physical activity on mortality and examines how levels of age-specific physical activity affect self-reported health trajectories in an ageing cohort.MethodsThe sample cohort of the population-based Tromsø Study consists of 24,309 participants aged 25–97 years at baseline. This study involved a survival analysis from 1994 to 2015 and included those who completed two or more surveys (n = 12,241) between 1994 and 2008. The purpose was to examine the relationship between physical activity and self-reported health throughout life using a random coefficient model analysis.ResultsBeing sedentary was associated with an increased risk of mortality in the ageing cohort. Subjects who reported neither light physical activity nor hard physical activity had a 57% (OR 1.57, 1.07–2.31) increased risk of all-cause death. Both hard (OR 2.77, 2.35–3.26) and light (OR 1.52, 1.32–1.76) physical activity were positively associated with self-reported health. The effect was age dependent. Vigorous physical activity was most beneficial for individuals younger than 40 years old, while moderate physical activity levels prolonged the period in which good self-reported health was likely.ConclusionsPoor self-reported health and being sedentary were independently associated with an increased risk of mortality in the participants. Furthermore, physical activity prolonged the period of good self-reported health among older adults in two ways: physical activity habits from early adulthood and onwards were beneficial to self-reported health at an advanced age, and self-reported health was dependent on engagement in moderate intensity physical activity after approximately 65 years of age.
Highlights
The prevailing Western ideal of ageing in place, with the option to stay at home as one ages, has led to the development of physical activity guidelines for people of advanced age to increase their quality of life and promote their functional abilities
The mean age of the participants increased between the surveys, so all estimates were standardized for age and sex
Basic:Wald chi2(19) = 3766.27, p < 0.0001 Complete cases (CC) model: Wald chi2(25) = 4564.77 Prob > = chibar2 = 0.0000 inverse probability weighting (IPW) (Missing): Wald chi2(25) = 2331.80, p < 0.0001 Odds ratio (OR) odds ratio, CI Confidence interval, PA physical activity, cardiovascular disease (CVD) Cardiovascular disease, std. standardised who engaged in hard physical activity; they still had a 98.9% probability of good self-reported health at age 25, an effect that decreased by 23% with every 10-year increase in age
Summary
The prevailing Western ideal of ageing in place, with the option to stay at home as one ages, has led to the development of physical activity guidelines for people of advanced age to increase their quality of life and promote their functional abilities. The World Health Organization defines healthy ageing as the process of developing and maintaining the functional ability that enables wellbeing in older age In practical terms, this means creating the environment and opportunities that enable people to be and do what they value [1] to increase wellbeing, participation, and recovery from illness more quickly. Ageing in place is perceived as qualitatively better for older people despite illness and disability, but there is evidence that there may be a socioeconomic benefit to postponing residency in care facilities [2] Both ideals, healthy ageing and ageing in place, have gained considerable traction in recent years in Western countries [1, 3], and the scientific community is engaged in investigating factors that will allow for healthy ageing. Some strategies for increasing physical activity have been shown to have stronger effects than others; motivational factors, including social support, environmental factors, and experiencing enjoyment from being physically active, are identified as being effective [7]
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