Aging in A Changing World – the Impact of Social Contact and Physical Activity on Health-Related Quality among Older People from Austria – A Biological Perspective

Abstract

Background: All over the world we are confronted with an absolute and relative increase of the portion of elderly people. In order to develop strategies to keep old aged people healthy and as long as possible independent, analyses of factors influencing health related quality of life (HRQL) during old age are necessary. The aim of this review was the presentation of the results projects focusing on the impact of social contacts and physical activity on HRQL carried out in Austria Methods: The standardized WHOQOL BREF and the Geriatric depression scale was used to estimate HRQL and prevalence of geriatric depression in Austrian elderly. Physical fitness was estimated by hand grip strength, Sarcopenia and bone loss were determined by DEXA measurements. Results: A higher number of offspring, but first of all a higher face to face contact frequency increased HRQL and reduces geriatric depression. Sarcopenia and reduced bone density which might increase the risk of frailty syndrome were significantly interrelated. Conclusions: The ongoing change of life circumstances increases psychosocial problems such as loneliness and depression among old people who no longer live embedded in their families. Childlessness and reduced contact frequency have adverse consequences for health related quality of life during old age. This is also true of reduced physical activity in daily life, which increases the risk of sarcopenia and osteoporosis and may be invalidity during old age.