Abstract
BackgroundIn 2012, the Danish Parliament decided to increase retirement age. Unfortunately, elderly people working in a physically demanding environment may be rendered unable to retain the ability to adequately perform the physical requirements of their jobs, due to age-related decreases in physical performance. Therefore, increasing the retirement age may not necessarily lead to the goal of keeping everybody in the labor market for a longer time. To date, our knowledge about the variations in physical performance of the elderly workforce is limited.ObjectiveIn this cross-sectional study we seek to investigate the effects of aging on physical performance among elderly manual workers.MethodsApproximately 100 Danish manual workers between 50 and 70 years of age will be recruited. The main measurement outcomes include: (1) inflammatory status from blood samples; (2) body composition; (3) lung function; (4) static and dynamic balance; (5) reaction time, precision, and movement variability during a hammering task; (6) handgrip strength, rate of force development, and force tracking; (7) estimated maximal rate of oxygen consumption; and (8) back mobility. Additionally, information regarding working conditions, physical activity levels, and health status will be assessed with a questionnaire.ResultsData collection is expected to take place between autumn 2017 and spring 2018.ConclusionsThis study will increase the knowledge regarding variations in physical performance in the elderly workforce and may identify potential workplace hazards. Moreover, this study might shed light on the potentially problematic decision to increase retirement age for all Danish citizens.
Highlights
It is expected that the world’s proportion of elderly people above the age of 60 years will almost double within the 35 years [1]
JMIR Res Protoc 2017 | vol 6 | iss. 11 | e226 | p. 1 environment may be rendered unable to retain the ability to adequately perform the physical requirements of their jobs, due to age-related decreases in physical performance
Systemic inflammation, which is typically elevated in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is associated with an age-related decline in lung function [33], but is negatively associated with muscle mass in elderly people [34]
Summary
100 Danish manual workers between 50 and 70 years of age will be recruited. Information regarding working conditions, physical activity levels, and health status will be assessed with a questionnaire
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