Activities Of Elderly People Research Articles

Leg extensor power and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, insulin-like growth factor-I and testosterone in healthy active elderly people.

We examined the association between quadriceps muscle function and serum levels of dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS), insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and testosterone in a group of healthy elderly people. Fifty-three independent, community-dwelling elderly subjects (26 men and 27 women) aged from 66 to 84 years volunteered to participate in the study. Physical activity (PA) was evaluated by a questionnaire. Quadriceps maximal muscle power (Wmax) and optimal shortening velocity (v(opt)) were measured on a friction-loaded non-isokinetic cycle ergometer. The Wmax is expressed in relation to body mass (W(max/kg), W x kg(-1)), and in relation to the mass of the two quadriceps muscles (W(max/Quadr), W x kg(Quadr(-1))). In women, when adjusted for age, anthropometric measurements and PA indices, IGF-I correlated significantly with W(max/kg) (partial correlation: r = 0.59; P = 0.001), W(max/Quadr) (r = 0.58; P = 0.002) and v(opt) (r = 0.53; P = 0.004), whereas DHEAS was correlated significantly with W(max/kg) (r = 0.54; P = 0.003) and W(max/Quadr) (r = 0.58; P = 0.002). No such correlation was found in men. These findings indicate that in healthy elderly women lower values for quadriceps muscle Wmax and v(opt) are related, independently of age, anthropometric measurements and PA indices, to lower circulating levels of DHEAS and IGF-I.

Update on hypertension management.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) represents a leading cause of mortality and morbidity especially among the elder people, and therefore the need of effective preventive strategies is imperative. Despite limited data among the elderly people, the majority of published studies have demonstrated that physically active elderly people have lower rates of CVD. In this article, we provide an overview of the epidemiology studies that investigate this association and analyze the relevant underlying biological mechanisms. We also discuss the types and amounts of physical activity recommended for the primary prevention of CVD in older adults.

Physical activity and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate, insulin-like growth factor I and testosterone in healthy active elderly people.

to examine the association of physical activity and cardio-respiratory fitness with dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS), insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and testosterone in healthy elderly people. cross-sectional study. university research department and department of geriatric medicine. 60 independent, community-dwelling elderly subjects (26 men and 34 women) aged 66-84 who volunteered to participate. physical activity was evaluated by the Questionnaire d'Activité Physique Saint-Etienne and expressed by three indices: mean habitual daily energy expenditure (MHDEE), daily energy expenditure (DEE) [comprising activities with intensities corresponding to at least three metabolic equivalents (MET; 3.5 ml.kg1 x min1 of oxygen consumption)] and sport activity. Cardio-respiratory fitness was expressed by maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max). In women, DHEAS correlated with VO2max (partial correlation: r=0.33; P=0.05), MHDEE (r=0.50; P=0.002), DEE > 3 METs (r=0.49; P=0.003) and sport activity (r=0.35; P=0.04) whereas IGF-I correlated with MHDEE (r=0.48; P=0.004). DHEAS was correlated with IGF-I (r=0.43; P < 0.02) and with testosterone (r=0.41; P < 0.02). No such correlation was found in men. lower habitual physical activity is related to lower levels of circulating DHEAS and IGF-I independently of age and anthropometric measures. Lower maximal aerobic capacity is associated with lower DHEAS concentrations, in healthy elderly women.

Relative exercise intensity of long-distance marching (120 km in 4 days) in 153 subjects aged 69-87 years.

The aim of this study was to determine the relative exercise intensity (oxygen uptake during the march/maximal oxygen uptake, VO2march/VO2max) during a long-distance march in subjects or over 70 years of age. Secondly, the effect of hypertension, cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases on the relative exercise intensity was evaluated. One hundred and fifty-three subjects, 97 men aged 76.7 (4.6) years and 56 women aged 72.8 (3.6) years who completed the 1993 Nijmegen day long-distance march (30 km x day(-1) on 4 consecutive days) participated in the study. Oxygen uptake (VO2) during walking at different velocities (v) was measured in a subgroup of nine men and nine women, selected randomly from the population under study. With these data, regression equations describing the relationship between VO2 and v were made. VO2march was estimated with the obtained regression equations from an average of the v(march) measured in all participants. VO2max was determined using incremental cycle ergometry in all subjects. VO2march was 13.7 (1.8) ml x kg(-1) x min(-1) in men and 15.2 (1.3) ml x kg x min(-1) in women at a mean v of 5 km x h(-1) in both sexes. This corresponded to 52% of VO2max in men and 63% in women. In both sexes subjects with cardiovascular and/or pulmonary diseases walked at a slower v and thus lower VO2march compared to subjects without these diseases. Due to the lower VO2max in subjects with these diseases there was no difference in the relative exercise intensity between the groups. A multiple linear regression analysis showed that and not age on the prevalence of hypertension, cardiovascular and/or pulmonary that VO2max was the most important predictor of the variance in self-selected v(march). This study demonstrates that these active people aged over 70 years could maintain a high relative exercise intensity during endurance walking on 4 subsequent days. Furthermore, it shows that the relative exercise intensity of marching is within the range recommended for improving fitness and reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Finally, these results demonstrate that VO2max has a more important influence on performance than does age or chronic diseases in active elderly people.

Aging, physical activity and sports injuries. An overview of common sports injuries in the elderly.

Illness and aging both cause many structural and functional alterations in the human body, rendering elderly people liable to overloading of the musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems. It should, however, be kept in mind that immobilisation and inactivity have even more deleterious effects on structures and functions in the elderly than in younger adults. Most physically active elderly people are selected individuals with respect to their superior health and physical capacity compared with inactive persons of the same age, thus making it possible to further improve their physical capacity. They will, however, be affected by some of the drawbacks of physical overloading, mostly due to the diminished ability of aging body systems to adapt to high levels of loading. The safety margin of an exercise dose tends to decline with aging. Exertional injuries are common among the elderly, and are connected mostly with degenerative aging processes. Acute injuries are common in those elderly people participating in sport activities which demand high coordination, reaction time, and balance capabilities, such as ball games, down-hill skiing, and gymnastics. Muscle has been reported to be the most commonly acutely injured tissue among active elderly athletes. The lower extremities are the most susceptible to injury. A large proportion of injuries (acute and exertional) are mild and can be treated by brief cessation of training and competition activities. Some of the injuries are, however, long term and cause disability not only during training and competition, but also in the normal activities of daily living. It is important that these injuries are treated as soon as possible and in the most effective way, similarly to injuries suffered by younger people. In treating elderly people, it is most important to avoid the detrimental effects of immobilisation; this requires active treatment and rehabilitation with compensatory exercise therapy. The best 'treatment' for sports-related injuries is prevention. Good agility, technical skills, and cardiovascular and musculoskeletal fitness are important in injury prevention among the elderly. Appropriate training programmes, the use of safe and familiar equipment, careful warming up and cooling down, multiphasic training [including the training of neurophysiological functions (balance, coordination and reaction time)] and muscle strength are essential aspects of injury prevention.

Maximal oxygen uptake in 153 elderly Dutch people (69–87 years) who participated in the 1993 Nijmegen 4-day march

There are no studies on oxygen uptake of groups of physically active subjects aged over 70. This study describes the maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) of 153 elderly people who completed the Nijmegen annual 4-day march (at least 30 km.day-1) in 1993. A total of 97 men with a mean age of 76.7 (SD 4.6) and 56 women with a mean age of 72.8 (SD 3.6) years participated in the study. The VO2max was determined using incremental cycle ergometry; 91 men and 49 women completed a maximal exercise test. Criteria for maximal performance were respiratory exchange ratio equal to or greater than 1.00, vertilatory equivalent for oxygen equal to or greater than 30.00 and maximal heart rate equal to or greater than (beats.min-1) 210 minus age (years). Mean maximal power output was 148.2 (SD 27.2) W and 120.4 (SD 20.5) W, mean VO2max.body mass-1 was 26.8 (SD 4.9) ml.kg-1.min-1 and 24.6 (SD 4.7) ml.kg-1.min-1, mean maximal heart rate was 152 (SD 18), and 157 (SD 14) beats.min-1 in men and women respectively. The mean VO2max.body mass-1 was about 20% higher than reported in other studies on subjects over 70 years of age. Mean maximal heart rate was about 10 beats.min-1 higher than predicted from the equation 220-age. The negative effect of chronic disease on VO2max.body mass-1 was smaller than in a sedentary reference population. The mean decline in VO2max.body mass-1 with age was 0.46 and 0.38 ml.kg-1.min-1 per year in the men and women respectively, which is the same rate as found in younger subjects. It was concluded that regular exercise might substantially increase aerobic power in the physically active elderly, even when they have chronic disease, and that it is unlikely that there is an accelerated loss of aerobic power in physically active elderly people aged over 70 year.

Physically fit and active elderly people have a higher quality of life

The relationship between habitual physical activity, self‐rated physical fitness and maximal walking speed and the health‐related quality of life according to the Nottingham Health profile (NHP) was studied in 233 men and 292 women 76 years of age. Subjects with higher physical activity reported fewer problems with energy, pain, emotions and physical mobility, and in men also less social isolation. Correlations between physical activity, fitness and walking speed and the NHP dimensions were usually stronger in men than in women. The reciprocal dependence between quality of life and a maintained level of physical activity and fitness may, thus, be especially evident in men.

Frailty and friendship

Ill health is an ever present possibility in the lives of apparently fit and active elderly people. Together, members of the elderly peer group establish norms of sickness behaviour and monitor each other's performance in terms of collective standards. Various responses occur when a friend is no longer able to engage in the activities of friendship. They range from the withdrawal of one or both partners to the bestowal of friendship on the frail as a gift. The paper draws on material collected during research on old people's friendships and formal organisations in the south of England. It examines the contrast between the policy makers' view that friends have a role in the promotion of health with that of gerontologists for whom friendship and long term ill health are incompatible. The evidence offered here challenges conventional thinking about friendship and health. It suggests that the importance of equity is exaggerated in the literature.