Objectively assessed physical activity and lower limb function and prospective associations with mortality and newly diagnosed disease in UK older adults: an OPAL four-year follow-up study

Abstract

Background: objective measures of physical activity and function with a diverse cohort of UK adults in their 70s and 80s were used to investigate relative risk of all-cause mortality and diagnoses of new diseases over a 4-year period.Participants: two hundred and forty older adults were randomly recruited from 12 general practices in urban and suburban areas of a city in the United Kingdom. Follow-up included 213 of the baseline sample.Methods: socio-demographic variables, height and weight, and self-reported diagnosed diseases were recorded at baseline. Seven-day accelerometry was used to assess total physical activity, moderate-to-vigorous activity and sedentary time. A log recorded trips from home. Lower limb function was assessed using the Short Physical Performance Battery. Medical records were accessed on average 50 months post baseline, when new diseases and deaths were recorded.Analyses: ANOVAs were used to assess socio-demographic, physical activity and lower limb function group differences in diseases at baseline and new diseases during follow-up. Regression models were constructed to assess the prospective associations between physical activity and function with mortality and new disease.Results: for every 1,000 steps walked per day, the risk of mortality was 36% lower (hazard ratios 0.64, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.44–0.91, P = 0.013). Low levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (incident rate ratio (IRR) 1.67, 95% CI 1.04–2.68, P = 0.030) and low frequency of trips from home (IRR 1.41, 95% CI 0.98–2.05, P = 0.045) were associated with diagnoses of more new diseases.Conclusion: physical activity should be supported for adults in their 70s and 80s, as it is associated with reduced risk of mortality and new disease development.

Self-Selected Walking Speed Is Predictive of Daily Ambulatory Activity in Older Adults

“…Although WS provides insight into health and functional status, meeting steps per day guidelines is how one can maintain or improve health and functional status (Fox et al, 2015; Tudor-Locke et al, 2011). Individuals not meeting recommended daily step counts may benefit from increased ambulatory activity.…”

Impact of Gait Speed and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living on All-Cause Mortality in Adults ≥65 Years With Heart Failure

“…A related measure, the 6-minute walk distance is a prognostic marker of mortality in heart failure (HF). 8-10 Impairment in gait speed often occurs in the setting of impairments in other geriatric measures, for example, in conjunction with deficits in lower extremity strength and balance as measured by the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), 4,11,12 or as a component of frailty in HF. 13-15 Instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) is another important geriatric measure in HF given its association with HF incidence and mortality in adults ≥65 years of age.…”

151Factors Associated With Change In Objectively Measured Physical Activity In Older People - Data From The Physical Activity Cohort Scotland Study

“…Cross-sectional relationships between physical activity, health, geography, psychology and social factors in older people have been explored extensively [5][6][7][8], and low levels of physical activity in old age predict future ill-health and earlier death [9,10]. Less is known about how physical activity levels change in older people, what factors predict such changes, and how the trajectory of change in activity (stable, improving or declining) might affect future disability.…”