scholarly journals Proximity to Facilities and Its Association with the Health-Related Habits of Functionally Independent Older Adults

Author(s):  
Mónica Machón ◽  
Kalliopi Vrotsou ◽  
Isabel Larrañaga ◽  
Itziar Vergara

The aim was to examine how proximity to facilities, as a component of community determinants, is associated with the health-related habits of functionally independent community-dwelling older adults. This was a cross-sectional study. Data were collected by face-to-face interviews. Participants were >65 years old, living in 15 municipalities of Gipuzkoa (Basque Country, Spain). Proximity to park-green spaces, cultural-sport centers, market-food stores, retirement associations, religious centers, primary care centers and hospitals was explored. Sociodemographic variables and health-related habits (diet, physical activity and self-perceived social life) were collected. Logistic regression models were performed. The sample comprised of 634 individuals (55% women; mean age: 74.8, SD 6.7 years). Older age (odds ratio-OR: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.91–0.97) was associated with lower physical activity, while being male (OR: 1.71, 95% CI: 1.08–2.68) and proximity to park-green spaces (OR: 1.64, 95% CI: 1.03–2.61) were related to more physical activity. Individuals with good self-perceived health (OR: 3.50, 95% CI: 1.82–6.74) and religious centers within walking distance (OR: 2.66, 95% CI: 1.40–5.04) had higher odds of a satisfactory social life. Encouraging the creation of park-green spaces and leisure centers near residential areas can assist in promoting physical activity and improving the social life of older adults.

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 233-233
Author(s):  
Xiaocao Sun ◽  
Minhui Liu ◽  
Christina E Miyawaki ◽  
Yuxiao Li ◽  
Tianxue Hou ◽  
...  

Abstract Personality is associated with predictors of homebound status like frailty, incident falls, and depression. It has been rarely investigated whether personality predicts homebound status among older adults. Using the combining cross-sectional data of the Year 2013 and Year 2014 data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS), this study examined the association between personality traits and homebound status in a sample of community-dwelling older adults aged 65 years and older (N=2,788). Homebound status (non-homebound, semi-homebound, and homebound) was determined by the frequency, difficulty, and help of outdoor mobility. Personality traits, including conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness, extraversion, and neuroticism were assessed using the 10-item Midlife Development Inventory on a rating scale from 1 (not at all) to 4 (a lot). Each personality trait was included as a predictor in an ordinal logistic regression model to examine its association with homebound status after adjusting demographic and health-related covariates. The sample was on average 79±7.53 years old, non-Hispanic White (72.0%), female (58.6%), living alone (35.4%) or with spouse/partner only (37.4%). Seventy-four percent, 18%, and 8% of participants were non-homebound, semi-homebound, and homebound, respectively. Homebound participants tended to be less-educated older females. The average scores of conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness, extraversion, and neuroticism were 3.19±0.75, 3.57±0.56, 2.81±0.83, 3.13±0.75, and 2.22±0.86, respectively. Among these five personality traits, high conscientiousness (OR=1.34, p<0.001) and extraversion (OR=1.16, p=.03) were associated with a reduced likelihood of being homebound. These findings provided a basis for potential personality assessment to identify and protect individuals with high homebound risk.


2012 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark W. Swanson ◽  
Eric Bodner ◽  
Patricia Sawyer ◽  
Richard M. Allman

Little is known about the effect of reduced vision on physical activity in older adults. This study evaluates the association of visual acuity level, self-reported vision, and ocular disease conditions with leisure-time physical activity and calculated caloric expenditure. A cross-sectional study of 911 subjects 65 yr and older from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Study of Aging (SOA) cohort was conducted evaluating the association of vision-related variables to weekly kilocalorie expenditure calculated from the 17-item Leisure Time Physical Activity Questionnaire. Ordinal logistic regression was used to evaluate possible associations while controlling for potential confounders. In multivariate analyses, each lower step in visual acuity below 20/50 was significantly associated with reduced odds of having a higher level of physical activity, OR 0.81, 95% CI 0.67, 0.97. Reduced visual acuity appears to be independently associated with lower levels of physical activity among community-dwelling adults.


2021 ◽  
pp. 105477382110339
Author(s):  
Bei Li ◽  
Xiuxiu Huang ◽  
Chenchen Meng ◽  
Qiaoqin Wan ◽  
Yongan Sun

Dementia is prevalent in worldwide, and increases the care burden and potential costs. Physical activity (PA) has been increasingly shown to be beneficial for them. This was a cross-sectional observational study aiming to investigate the status of PA among community-dwelling older adults with dementia in Beijing or Hangzhou, China, and verify the relationships between neuropsychiatric symptoms, activities of daily living (ADL), caregivers’ fear of patients’ falling and their PA using a path analysis approach. The level of PA among 216 included people with dementia was low. PA was related to the neuropsychiatric symptoms, with ADL and caregivers’ fear of patients’ falling have mediation roles. The findings indicated that person-centered strategies related to the management of these symptoms might be helpful to improve ADL, relieve caregivers’ concerns about them falling and consequently foster positive participation in PA.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Nishigaki ◽  
C Koga ◽  
M Hanazato ◽  
K Kondo

Abstract Introduction Older adult's depression is a public health problem. In recent years, exposure to local greenspace is beneficial to mental health via increased physical activity in people. However, few studies approach the relationship between greenspace and depression while simultaneously considering the frequency, time, and the number of types of physical activity, and large-scale surveys targeting the older adults. Methods Cross-sectional data conducted in 2016 by the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study was used. The analysis included older adults aged 65 and over who did not require care or assistance, and a total of 126,878 people in 881 School districts. The explanatory variable is the percentage of the greenspace of the area, and the greenspace data used is data created from satellite photographs acquired by observation satellites of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The objective variable was depression (Geriatric Depression Scale 5 points or more). The analysis method was a multi-level logistic regression analysis. Physical activity was the number of sports-related hobbies, the frequency of participation in sports meetings, and walking time in daily life. Other factors such as personal attributes, population density of residential areas, and local climate were also considered. Results Depression in the survey was 20.4%. The abundance of greenspace was still associated with depression, considering all physical activity. The odds ratio of depression in areas with more greenspace was 0.92 (95% CI 0.87 - 0.98) compared to areas with less greenspace. Conclusions It became clear that areas with many greenspace were still associated with low depression, even considering the frequency, time and number of physical activities. It is conceivable that the healing effect of seeing greenspace, the reduction of air pollution and noise, etc. are related to the lack of depression without going through physical activity. Key messages In Japan, older adults are less depressed when there are many local greenspace. It became clear that areas with many greenspace were still associated with low depression, even considering physical activities.


2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 114-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koren L. Fisher ◽  
Elizabeth L. Harrison ◽  
Brenda G. Bruner ◽  
Joshua A. Lawson ◽  
Bruce A. Reeder ◽  
...  

The purpose of this study was to explore cross-sectional relationships between self-reported physical activity (PA) and personal, social, and environmental factors in community-dwelling adults aged 50 years and older. Accounting for clustering by neighborhood, generalized estimating equations were used to examine associations between selected correlates and the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE) score while adjusting for confounders. Data for 601 participants were analyzed: 79% female, 37% married, mean age 76.8 (± 8.7) years, mean PASE score 112.6 (± 64.8). Age, living in seniors’ housing, using nursing/home care services, receiving encouragement to be active, and having benches available in the neighborhood were inversely associated with PASE. Self-efficacy, SF-12 score, PA barriers, social support, and the presence of trails showed positive associations. Several personal, social, and environmental factors associated with PA were identified. The inverse association between PA and living in seniors’ housing units should be considered when developing PA programs for older adults.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S292-S292
Author(s):  
Rie Suzuki ◽  
Jennifer Blackwood ◽  
Shailee Shah ◽  
Sabah Ganai ◽  
Kimberly Warden

Abstract The built environment is commonly cited as a facilitator to local walking. Although health promotion programs targeting physical activity are available, few studies have investigated the associations of the perceived neighborhoods with the incidence of falls in the minority communities. Hence, the purpose of this preliminary study was to understand whether the perceived built environment influenced the fall experiences in older adults living in the underserved community. The preliminary cross-sectional survey was conducted at the regional health clinic in Flint, MI. Descriptive statistics and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were performed using SAS v8.4. The eligibility criteria included over 65 years old and Flint residents. Of 132 participants, the mean age was 69.75 (SD=5.00). The majority were female (68%), African Americans (80%), single, divorced or widowed (80%), and > GED (84%). The ANOVAs supported that “had fallen in the past year” was associated with “stores are within easy walking distance,” “easy to walk to a transit stop” and “there is a dirt strip that separates the streets from the sidewalks.” The fall experience was more likely to associate with the sedentary lifestyle and the comorbidities such as diabetes, fatigues, muscle spasms, and chronic pain. To summarize, the built environment increased the incidence of falls in the past year. Those who had fallen had poor health conditions. Further studies are needed for older adults to engage in physical activity. It is essential to develop the age-friendly support systems and accommodations to local walking in this community.


Author(s):  
Marcel Ballin ◽  
Peter Nordström ◽  
Anna Nordström

In this cross-sectional study, the authors investigated the associations of objectively measured physical activity (PA) with the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in older adults. Accelerometer-derived light-intensity PA, moderate to vigorous PA, and steps per day were measured in (N = 4,652) 70-year-olds in Umeå, Sweden, during May 2012–November 2019. The MetS was assessed according to the American Heart Association/ National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute criteria. The prevalence of MetS was 49.3%. Compared with the reference, the odds ratios for MetS in increasing quartiles of light-intensity PA were 0.91 (0.77–1.09), 0.75 (0.62–0.89), and 0.66 (0.54–0.80). For moderate to vigorous PA, the corresponding odds ratios were 0.79 (0.66–0.94), 0.67 (0.56–0.80), and 0.56 (0.46–0.67). For steps per day, the odds ratios were 0.65 (0.55–0.78), 0.55 (0.46–0.65), and 0.45 (0.36–0.55). In summary, this study shows that greater amounts of PA, regardless of intensity, are associated with lower odds of MetS. With the limitation of being an observational study, these findings may have implications for the prevention of MetS in older adults.


2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 580-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Aranda-García ◽  
Albert Busquets ◽  
Antoni Planas ◽  
Joan A. Prat-Subirana ◽  
Rosa M. Angulo-Barroso

Purpose:Gait speed is related to physical function in older adults. This cross-sectional study examined the best predictors of maximal gait speed (MGS) among physical abilities, and general factors in healthy, rural community-dwelling older adults.Methods:MGS, muscle strength, and postural sway were measured in 55 community-dwelling participants (age, 72.1 ± 6.8, range 61–87 years; 72.7% women). Two stepwise regressions were used to find MGS predictors in two models: physical abilities and global.Results:Strength of knee extensors with 60° of knee flexion (KStrength60°) and maximal distance in the anterior-posterior direction with eyes closed explained 50.2% of MGS variance (p < .05) in the physical abilities model. KStrength60°, age, and level of physical activity explained 63.9% of MGS variance (p < .05) in the global model.Conclusions:Regardless of the model, KStrength60° was the best predictor of MGS in rural female older adults. Future research should examine the generalization of these findings to rural male older adults.


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