Association between fulfilling the recommendations for health-enhancing physical activity with (instrumental) activities of daily living in older Austrians.

Richard Crevenna,Thomas E Dorner

doi:10.1007/s00508-019-1511-8

Abstract

SummaryAimThe aim of the study was to describe the association between fulfilling the recommendation for health-enhancing physical activity (PA), and deficits in activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) in 3308 subjects aged 65+ years from the Austrian Health Interview Survey 2014.MethodsThe proportion of subjects who fulfilled the minimal recommendations for health-enhancing PA was assessed with the Physical Activity Questionnaire of the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS-PAQ). The ADLs were assessed based on the Barthel index, and IADLs by the IADL scale of Lawton and Brody. Additionally, various sociodemographic and health-related factors were assessed.ResultsOf the participants 54.7% did not fulfil the minimal requirements for aerobic PA, and 67.1% not for muscle strengthening PA, 16.4% reported ADL deficits, and 47.1% IADL deficits. Adjusted for sociodemographic and health-related parameters, not fulfilling the recommendations for aerobe PA was associated with a higher chance for ADL deficits (odds ratio, OR 1.73, 95%-confidence interval 1.36–2.21), and IADL deficits (1.57; 1.34–1.84). Not fulfilling the recommendations for muscle strengthening PA also increased the chance for ADL and IADLs deficits (1.34; 1.04–1.72, and 1.29; 1.09–1.53, respectively).ConclusionThe number of participants who did not fulfil the minimal requirements for aerobic or strengthening PA was very high, and these participants showed significantly more problems in ADLs and IADLs. Therefore, all future efforts should focus on increasing participation and adherence in exercise programs for older people with the intention to improve their performance status and functions in daily life.

Highlights

Physical activity (PA) is one of the key determinants of physical, mental, and social health of children, adolescents and of adults and older people
Regular aerobic as well as muscle strengthening activities have been shown to be effective in improving performance status, functional status and quality of life [1]
About half of the participants did not fulfil the minimum requirements for aerobic PA, and two thirds did not fulfil the minimum requirements for muscle strengthening

Summary

Introduction

Physical activity (PA) is one of the key determinants of physical, mental, and social health of children, adolescents and of adults and older people. Regular aerobic as well as muscle strengthening activities have been shown to be effective in improving performance status, functional status and quality of life [1]. Aerobic exercise has been shown to improve endurance capacity. Strength exercise in older people has been shown to increase muscular strength, physical performance, and partly muscle mass, and decrease frailty [2]. A recent correlation study of data from 11 European countries revealed a significant negative correlation between the proportion of people fulfilling the minimal aerobic physical activity recommendations (≥150 min/week) and the proportion of prefrail or frail people [3].

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