Residential area characteristics and disabilities among Dutch community-dwelling older adults

Abstract

BackgroundLiving longer independently may be facilitated by an attractive and safe residential area, which stimulates physical activity. We studied the association between area characteristics and disabilities and whether this association is mediated by transport-related physical activity (TPA).MethodsLongitudinal data of 271 Dutch community-dwelling adults aged 65 years and older participating in the Elderly And their Neighbourhood (ELANE) study in 2011–2013 were used. Associations between objectively measured aesthetics (range 0–22), functional features (range 0–14), safety (range 0–16), and destinations (range 0–15) within road network buffers surrounding participants’ residences, and self-reported disabilities in instrumental activities of daily living (range 0–8; measured twice over a 9 months period) were investigated by using longitudinal tobit regression analyses. Furthermore, it was investigated whether self-reported TPA mediated associations between area characteristics and disabilities.ResultsA one unit increase in aesthetics within the 400 m buffer was associated with 0.86 less disabilities (95% CI −1.47 to −0.25; p < 0.05), but other area characteristics were not related to disabilities. An increase in area aesthetics was associated with more TPA, and more minutes of TPA were associated with less disabilities. TPA however, only partly mediated the associated between area aesthetics and disabilities.ConclusionsImproving aesthetic features in the close by area around older persons’ residences may help to prevent disability.

Neighborhood Participation Is Less Likely among Older Adults with Sidewalk Problems

“…Given both of these samples were taken from a US population, this may explain why we observe similar results. These findings are in conflict with findings from Etman et al (2016), where researchers found that functional features were not associated with self-reported difficulty in ADL or outdoor active transport (i.e., walking or cycling for transport) among older adults 65 years and older, after controlling for age and sex (Etman et al, 2016). Cultural differences between the Netherlands and the United States may in part explain the differences observed between these two projects.…”

“…Cultural differences between the Netherlands and the United States may in part explain the differences observed between these two projects. In addition, Etman et al (2016) used a composite measure of neighborhood functional features (e.g., benches and waste bins), which may have diluted the true association between sidewalk characteristics and neighborhood participation. Future research is needed to fully understand the role of sidewalks on neighborhood participation.…”

“…Evenness of sidewalks was associated with the likelihood of physical activity, but only among those living in areas outside of city centers and not within more densely populated environments (Keskinen et al, 2019). Conversely, a longitudinal study within the South Holland city of Spijkenisse in the Netherlands found that sidewalk features were not associated with self-reported difficulty in activities of daily living (ADL) or outdoor active transport (i.e., walking or cycling for transport) among older adults aged 65 years and older, after controlling for age and sex (Etman et al, 2016). There is a need to better understand the relationship between sidewalks and neighborhood participation given the disagreement in the literature.…”

Hilly environment and physical activity among community-dwelling older adults in Japan: a cross-sectional study

“…A network buffer is a polygonal geometric space which approximates the daily activity space of each participant along with the actual street network. We set multiple network buffers, 400 and 800 m, which were found to be appropriate activity spaces for people in previous neighbourhood studies 23 24. The buffer zones were computed along with actual street network, which excluded non-habitable areas, such as forests, rivers and mountains.…”

Coping Strategies of Disabled People in Residential Environments after Injury Events

“…There is an increasing use of long-term care across Europe, and the built environment is important for elderly people's ability to live independently (Estman, Kamphuis, Pierik, Burdorf, & Van Lenthe, 2016). As people live longer, which more and more people are doing, they acquire functional disabilities and chronic diseases (Thodelius, Ekman, Lundälv, & Ekbrand, 2017).…”