scholarly journals Barriers Are Not the Limiting Factor to Participation in Physical Activity in Canadian Seniors

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristy L. Smith ◽  
Kelly Carr ◽  
Alexandra Wiseman ◽  
Kelly Calhoun ◽  
Nancy H. McNevin ◽  
...  

The identification of barriers to physical activity and exercise has been used for many decades to explain exercise behavior in older adults. Typically health concerns are the number one barrier to participation. Data from CCHS-HA dataset(N=20,875)were used to generate a sample of Canadians, 60+ years, who did not identify a health condition limitation, illness, or injury as a barrier to participation in physical activity(n=4,900)making this dataset unique in terms of the study of barriers to participation. While the vast majority of older adults participated in physical activity, 9.4% did not. The relationships between nonparticipation, barriers, self-reported health status, and chronic health conditions were determined using binary logistic regression. The main findings suggest that traditional barriers and self-reported health status are not responsible for nonparticipation. Nonparticipation was best predicted by chronic health conditions suggesting a disconnect between self-reported health status and underlying health conditions. The data are clear in suggesting that barriers are not the limiting factor and physical activity programming must be focused on meeting the health needs of our aging population.

2007 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 484-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael T. French ◽  
Silvana K. Zavala

Purpose. To examine the association between alcohol use and self-reported health status. In particular, we sought to determine whether moderate drinkers are more likely to self-report above-average health status compared with other current drinkers, former drinkers, and lifetime abstainers. Design. Cross-sectional survey. Setting. Continental United States. Subjects. The sample adult component of the 2002 U.S. National Health Interview Survey (n = 31,044), representative of the U.S. noninstitutionalized civilian household population. Measures. Dichotomous measure of above-average self-reported health status relative to all other health states. Several measures characterized alcohol use patterns (i.e., continuous and categorical measure of alcohol use, a proxy measure of problem drinking, former drinking, lifetime abstaining). Chronic health conditions and various demographic and lifestyle factors were included as covariates in all regression models. Results. For both men and women, current moderate drinkers had the highest odds (OR = 1.27 for men, p < .01; OR = 2.03 for women, p < .01) of reporting above-average health status compared with other current drinkers, former drinkers, and lifetime abstainers. The odds dropped to 1.12 and 1.34, respectively, when all past-year drinkers were collapsed into a single group. Conclusion. Moderate alcohol consumption was associated with the highest odds of reporting above-average health status, even after controlling for chronic health conditions and demographic and lifestyle factors associated with health.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Ray Marks

Background The coronavirus Covid-19 strain that emerged in December 2019, continues to produce a widespread and seemingly intractable negative impact on health and longevity in all parts of the world, especially, among older adults, and those with chronic health conditions. Aim The first aim of this review article was to examine, summarize, synthesize, and report on the research base concerning the possible use of vitamin-D supplementation for reducing both Covid-19 risk and severity, especially among older adults at high risk for Covid-19 infections. A second was to provide directives for researchers or professionals who work or are likely to work in this realm in the future. Methods All English language relevant publications detailing the possible efficacy of vitamin D as an intervention strategy for minimizing Covid-19 infection risk published in 2020 were systematically sought. Key words used were: Vitamin D, Covid-19, and Coronavirus. Databases used were PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. All relevant articles were carefully examined and those meeting the review criteria were carefully read, and described in narrative form. Results Collectively, these data reveal vitamin D is a powerful steroid like compound that is required by the body to help many life affirming physiological functions, including immune processes, but its deficiency may seriously impact the health status and well being of the older adult and others. Since vitamin D is not manufactured by the body directly, ensuring those who are deficient in vitamin D may prove a helpful overall preventive measure as well as a helpful treatment measure among older adults at high risk for severe Covid-19 disease outcomes. Conclusions Older individuals with chronic health conditions, as well as healthy older adults at risk for vitamin D deficiency are likely to benefit physically as well as mentally, from efforts to foster adequate vitamin D levels. Geriatric clinicians can expect this form of intervention to reduce infection severity in the presence of Covid-19 infection, regardless of health status, and subject to careful study, researchers can make a highly notable impact in this regard.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yun-Tsung Chen ◽  
Po-Fu Lee ◽  
Chi-Fang Lin ◽  
Andy Chang ◽  
Yu-Chun Chung ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Through this study, we aimed to determine the association of regular leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) with self-reported body mass index (BMI) and obesity risk among middle-aged and older adults in Taiwan. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study and reviewed the data derived from the Taiwan’s National Physical Activity Survey (TNPAS). Responses from 12,687 participants aged 45–108 years from the database were collected in this study. All participants completed a standardized, structured questionnaire that solicitated information regarding their demographic characteristics (age, gender, education, occupation, and self-reported health status), physical activity behaviors (regular/nonregular LTPA), and self-reported anthropometrics (height, weight, and BMI). Multiple linear and logistic regression were used to examine the association between regular LTPA and BMI as well as between regular LTPA and obesity status, respectively. Results Regular LTPA was associated with a male preponderance, normal weight, excellent or good self-reported health status, and a lower rate of underweight compared with nonregular LTPA. Regular LTPA was significant negatively associated with underweight (OR = 0.71, p < 0.05), whereas it had no significant relationship with BMI and obesity (p > 0.05). Conclusions Regular LTPA was associated with a reduced risk of underweight among middle-aged and elderly adults in Taiwan. Further research on the relevant mechanism underlying this phenomenon is warranted.


Author(s):  
Fiona Robards ◽  
Melissa Kang ◽  
Georgina Luscombe ◽  
Catherine Hawke ◽  
Lena Sanci ◽  
...  

Background: The aim of this study was to measure young people’s health status and explore associations between health status and belonging to one or more socio-culturally marginalised group. Methods: part of the Access 3 project, this cross-sectional survey of young people aged 12–24 years living in New South Wales, Australia, oversampled young people from one or more of the following groups: Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander; living in rural and remote areas; homeless; refugee; and/or, sexuality and/or gender diverse. This paper reports on findings pertaining to health status, presence of chronic health conditions, psychological distress, and wellbeing measures. Results: 1416 participants completed the survey; 897 (63.3%) belonged to at least one marginalised group; 574 (40.5%) to one, 281 (19.8%) to two and 42 (3.0%) to three or four groups. Belonging to more marginalised groups was significantly associated with having more chronic health conditions (p = 0.001), a greater likelihood of high psychological distress (p = 0.001) and of illness or injury related absence from school or work (p < 0.05). Conclusions: increasing marginalisation is associated with decreasing health status. Using an intersectional lens can to be a useful way to understand disadvantage for young people belonging to multiple marginalised groups.


Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 1719
Author(s):  
Yun-Tsung Chen ◽  
Po-Fu Lee ◽  
Chi-Fang Lin ◽  
Andy Chang ◽  
Yu-Chun Chung ◽  
...  

Through this study, we aimed to determine the association of regular leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) with self-reported body mass index (BMI) and obesity risk among middle-aged and older adults in Taiwan. We conducted a cross-sectional study and reviewed the data derived from the Taiwan National Physical Activity Survey (TNPAS). Responses from 12,687 participants aged 45–108 years from the database were collected in this study. All the participants completed a standardized structured questionnaire that solicitated information regarding their demographic characteristics (age, gender, education, occupation, and self-reported health status), physical activity behaviors (regular/nonregular LTPA), and self-reported anthropometrics (height, weight, and BMI). Multiple linear and logistic regressions were used to examine the association between regular LTPA and BMI, and between regular LTPA and obesity status, respectively. Regular LTPA was associated with male gender, normal weight, excellent or good self-reported health status, and a lower rate of being underweight compared with nonregular LTPA. Regular LTPA was significant negatively associated with being underweight (OR = 0.71, p < 0.05), whereas it had no significant relationship with BMI and obesity (p > 0.05). Regular LTPA was associated with a reduced risk of being underweight among middle-aged and elderly adults in Taiwan. Further research on the relevant mechanism underlying this phenomenon is warranted.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (S1) ◽  
pp. S53-S63
Author(s):  
John D. Omura ◽  
Eric T. Hyde ◽  
Giuseppina Imperatore ◽  
Fleetwood Loustalot ◽  
Louise Murphy ◽  
...  

Background: Physical activity is central to the management and control of many chronic health conditions. The authors examined trends during the past 2 decades in the prevalence of US adults with and without select chronic health conditions who met the minimal aerobic physical activity guideline. Methods: The 1998–2018 National Health Interview Survey data were analyzed. Prevalence of meeting the minimal aerobic physical activity guideline among adults with and without 6 chronic health conditions was estimated across 3-year intervals. Linear and higher-order trends were assessed overall and by age group. Results: During the past 2 decades, prevalence of meeting the aerobic guideline increased among adults with diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, cancer, and arthritis. However, the absolute increase in prevalence was lower among adults with hypertension, coronary heart disease, and arthritis compared to counterparts without each condition, respectively. Prevalence was persistently lower among those with most chronic health conditions, except cancer, and among older adults compared to their counterparts. Conclusions: Although rising trends in physical activity levels among adults with chronic health conditions are encouraging for improving chronic disease management, current prevalence remains low, particularly among older adults. Increasing physical activity should remain a priority for chronic disease management and control.


Blood ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 138 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 432-432
Author(s):  
Julie A. Wolfson ◽  
Smita Bhatia ◽  
Lindsey Hageman ◽  
Elizabeth Schlichting ◽  
Nora Balas ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Living in a disadvantaged neighborhood (reflecting neighborhood-level social determinants of health) is associated with poor health outcomes. BMT survivors remain at a high risk of long-term and late-occurring chronic health conditions that require anticipatory management. We hypothesized that neighborhood disadvantage would be associated with poor health status as reported by the BMT survivors, as well as poor utilization of the healthcare system. Methods: We leveraged data from BMTSS - a retrospective cohort study examining long-term outcomes among individuals who survived ≥2y following BMT performed at three institutions between 1974 and 2014. Participants in this analysis underwent a single BMT and completed the BMTSS survey, which captures sociodemographic characteristics and chronic health conditions. We graded chronic health conditions using CTCAE v5.0, and calculated a summative index that takes into account the number and grades of the conditions, where a higher score indicates more/worse conditions. The survey also captured self-reported health status ("In general would you say your health is: excellent, very good, good, fair or poor?") and healthcare utilization ("When was your most recent routine check-up? &lt;1y ago, 1-2y ago, 2-5y ago, ≥5y ago, never"). Neighborhood disadvantage was measured using the Area Deprivation Index (ADI), a validated composite indicator based on 17 US Census measures and percentiled as 0 (least deprived) to 100 (most deprived). BMT survivors were linked to ADI via census block group using home address at survey completion. Using multivariable ordered logit regression, we modeled the association between ADI and the odds of worse self-reported health or a longer time since a routine healthcare visit. Models were adjusted for available clinical factors (primary cancer diagnosis, donor source, conditioning intensity, chronic health conditions, chronic graft vs. host disease (GvHD), time from BMT) and individual-level sociodemographic characteristics (age at survey, sex, payor, race/ethnicity, education, income, marital status). Results: The cohort included 2,893 BMT survivors; median age at BMT was 47y (IQR: 30-58); median follow-up time was 9y (IQR: 5-16). Table 1 summarizes patient characteristics. Median ADI ranged from 14.0 in patients rating their health as excellent to 28.5 in those rating their health as poor, and from 21.0 in patients with visits &lt;1y ago to 34.0 in patients reporting no visits [Fig 1]. In multivariable analyses, the odds of reporting worse health were higher for patients residing in more disadvantaged neighborhoods (OR per_unit_higher_ADI=1.005, p=0.003). Thus, for our cohort, a patient living in the most disadvantaged neighborhood (ADI=100) had 1.65 times the odds of reporting poor health compared to a patient living in the least disadvantaged neighborhood (ADI=1). Further, the odds of a longer time since the last routine physician visit were higher for patients living in more disadvantaged neighborhoods (OR per_unit_higher_ADI=1.007, p&lt;0.001). Thus, a patient living in the most disadvantaged neighborhood had twice the odds (OR=2.06) of reporting no visits compared to a patient living in the least disadvantaged neighborhood. Conclusions: Conditional on surviving 2 or more years after BMT, living in a disadvantaged neighborhood was associated with poorer self-reported health and a longer time interval since a routine healthcare visit, after adjusting for self-reported individual socioeconomic indicators and chronic health conditions. The significant association between area deprivation and poorer self-reported health persisted after controlling for prior health care utilization. Our findings suggest that health status and access to healthcare are associated with characteristics of the built and social environment and deserve detailed examination in order to inform multi-level interventions that include policy. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Arora: Syndax: Research Funding; Kadmom: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Research Funding.


2020 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-94
Author(s):  
Ann P. Rafferty ◽  
Huabin Luo ◽  
N. Ruth Gaskins Little ◽  
Satomi Imai ◽  
Nancy L. Winterbauer ◽  
...  

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce Reeder ◽  
Karen Chad ◽  
Liz Harrison ◽  
Nigel Ashworth ◽  
Suzanne Sheppard ◽  
...  

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