Association between self-rated health and physical performance in middle-aged and older women from Northeast Brazil

Abstract

Background Self-rated Health (SRH) is regarded as a simple and valid measure of a person’s health status, given its association to adverse health outcomes, including low physical performance in older populations. However, studies investigating these associations in low- and middle-income settings are scarce, especially for middle-aged populations. Understanding the validity of SRH in relation to objective health measures in low-income populations could assist in decision making about health policy and strategies, especially in under-resourced settings. Objective Assess the relationship between SRH and physical performance measures in middle-aged and older women in a low-income setting of Brazil. Methods This is a cross-sectional study of 571 middle-aged (40–59 years old) and older (60–80 years old) women living in Parnamirim and Santa Cruz in the Northeast region of Brazil. Participants reported their health status and were allocated to the “SRH good” or “SRH poor” groups. The physical performance evaluation included: handgrip strength, one-legged balance with eyes open and closed and chair stand test. The relationship between SRH and physical performance for middle-aged and older women was assessed by quantile regression (modeling medians) adjusted for potential confounders (age, socioeconomic variables, body mass index, menopause status, age at first birth, parity, chronic conditions and physical activity). Results Middle-aged women from the “SRH good” group presented better physical performance with 1.75 kgf stronger handgrip strength (95% CI [0.47–3.02]; p = 0.004), 1.31 s longer balance with eyes closed ([0.00–2.61]; p = 0.030), and they were 0.56 s faster in the chair stand test ([0.18–0.94]; p = 0.009) than those who reported “SRH poor”. No association was found for balance with eyes open. For older women, there was no evidence of associations between physical performance and SRH. Conclusion This study showed that SRH is significantly associated with objective measures of physical performance in a sample of low-income middle-aged women. SRH can be an important tool to indicate the need for further evaluation of physical performance among middle-aged women and can be particularly useful for low-income communities.

Self-reported health and the well-being paradox among community-dwelling older adults: a cross-sectional study using baseline data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA)

“…These factors included a lower level of multimorbidity, female sex, higher Life Space Index score, and higher levels of functional and psychological resilience. While other studies have identified factors predictive of high self-reported health, including female sex [ 39 ] and physical performance (e.g., balance, chair stand test) [ 40 , 41 ], this is the first study to identify that the factors that predict high self-reported health among a general population of older adults is the same for the subset of the population with high multimorbidity. This finding is a unique contribution to the literature because while the well-being paradox is commonly acknowledged and identified, it is poorly described and understood.…”

Cut-off points to screening for sarcopenia in community-dwelling older people residents in Brazil

“…Participants were positioned as recommended by the American Society of Hand Therapists ( Fess, 1992 ), seated, shoulders adducted and in neutral rotation, elbow positioned at 90° of flexion, with forearms and wrist in neutral or slightly extended position (up to 30 degrees). Participants were instructed to squeeze the dynamometer at maximum isometric strength for five seconds three times, with a one-minute interval between attempts ( da Câmara et al, 2015 ; Fernandes et al, 2020 ). For this study, the average of the three attempts was considered for the analysis.…”

“…The participants were asked about the consumption of alcoholic beverages and tobacco, for both variables the answers were dichotomized as yes or no. As for the practice of physical activity, the participants were asked if they were practicing sports, exercises, or other physical activities, such as walking, in their leisure time, at least three times a week and for 30 min or more and it was dichotomized in yes or no ( da Câmara et al, 2015 ; Fernandes et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Therefore, elderly people living in this region are diagnosed through the cut-off points of international consensus that do not consider the different ethnic characteristics of Brazil, which may lead to an overestimation of the prevalence of sarcopenia in this population (Sampaio et al, 2017). Unlike other areas, the northeast region is considered one of the poorest places in Brazil, characterized by high rates of illiteracy, child mortality and unemployment (Ponciano, Nunes & Cerdeira, 2015), in addition to presenting high rates of social inequalities that affect individuals' access to health care (Fernandes et al, 2020).…”

Capacidade de avaliação de testes de desempenho físico para identificar baixa massa muscular em mulheres de meia-idade e idosas

“…Sustained contractions of five seconds were requested, with an interval of one minute between measurements. The arithmetic mean of three consecutive measurements was considered 17 .…”