[Update on Current Care Guideline: Physical activity and exercise training for adults in sickness and in health]. / KÄYPÄ HOITO -SUOSITUS (Päivitystiivistelmä). Liikunta.

The purpose of the guideline is to promote physical activity in the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of diseases. Physical activity plays a key role in the management of several chronic noncommunicable diseases. In this guideline, the following diseases are discussed: endocrinological, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and respiratory diseases, as well as depression and cancer. In addition, physical activity during pregnancy and in senior citizens is reviewed. Exercise counseling should be included as part of disease management and lifestyle guidance.

[Physical activity of the elderly - what kind of and what for?]. / Ikääntyneiden liikunta - minkölaista ja mihin tarkoitukseen?

Starting to exercise is beneficial even at an older age. Versatile exercise improving the condition of the respiratory and circulatory system, muscle strength and mobility is effective for maintaining functional capacity, especially among those having an already impaired mobility and functional capacity. Physical exercise can slow down the progress of bone loss, and intense exercise may even serve to increase the bone density in an elderly person. The main focus of physical activity aiming at the prevention of failings and fractures is in training that improves balance and muscular strength in the lower extremities. Endurance exercise and strength training seem to diminish the impairment of cognitive functions.

Leisure-time physical activity in midlife is related to old age frailty.

BACKGROUND: There are scarce studies of the long-term associations between leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) in midlife and phenotypic frailty in old age. METHODS: We studied healthy Caucasian men of high socioeconomic status (N = 514), who had participated in health checkups during the 1960s (the Helsinki Businessmen Study, Finland). In 1974, they were examined with questionnaires and clinical examinations, and LTPA was collapsed into three categories: low (n = 87), moderate (n = 256), and high (n = 171). In 2000, at mean age of 74, survivors were assessed for physical activity and frailty phenotype using the modified Fried criteria validated in our cohort. Four criteria were used: (a) weight loss > 5% from midlife or current body mass index < 21kg/m(2), (b) physical inactivity, (c) low vitality, and (d) physical weakness. Responders with 3-4, 1-2, and zero criteria were classified as frail, prefrail, and nonfrail, respectively. RESULTS: The prevalence of frailty was 16.1%, 10.2%, and 4.7% in the low, moderate, and high LTPA groups, respectively. Higher midlife LTPA was significantly related to lower prevalence of both frailty and prefrailty in old age. After adjusting for baseline age, smoking, body mass index, blood pressure, and alcohol, the risk of frailty was 80% lower in the high LTPA group compared with the low LTPA group (odds ratio = 0.20; 95% confidence interval 0.07-0.55). This finding was supported by the relationships between the change of physical activity and frailty in old age. CONCLUSIONS: In this socioeconomically homogenous male cohort, higher physical activity since midlife was strongly associated with less frailty in old age.

Physical activity in midlife and telomere length measured in old age.

Physical activity has been associated with alterations in telomere length, a potential indicator of biological aging, but several inconsistencies exist. Our aim was to investigate the associations between physical activity in midlife and leukocyte telomere length (LTL) measured in old age in the Helsinki Businessmen Study, Finland. At entry, in 1974, 782 men (mean age 47) completed a questionnaire about their physical activity and this was collapsed into 3 categories: low (n=148), moderate (n=398) and high physical activity (n=236, 7 of whom had a competitive activity level). After 29-year follow-up in 2003, mean LTL and the proportion of short (<5 kB) telomeres were measured from DNA samples of a random subcohort of survivors (n=204, mean age 76) using the Southern blot technique. Adjusted for age, body mass index (BMI), cholesterol and smoking in 1974, the moderate physical activity group had longer mean LTL (8.27 kB, SE 0.05) than the low (8.10 kB, SE 0.07), or high (8.10 kB, SE 0.05) physical activity groups (P=0.03 between groups). Conversely, the proportion of short telomeres was lowest in the moderate physical activity group (11.35%, SE 0.25), and higher in the high (12.39%, SE 0.29), and the low physical activity (12.21%, SE 0.39) groups (P=0.02 between groups). We conclude that the results of this observational cohort study give support to the idea that both low and high physical activity is in the long-term associated with factors shortening LTL.

Leisure-time physical activity, cardiovascular risk factors and mortality during a 34-year follow-up in men.

UNLABELLED: The inverse relationship between physical activity and mortality may be confounded by socioeconomic factors, cardiovascular risk factors and inverse causality. We investigated long-term association between self-reported regular physical activity and mortality in a socioeconomically homogeneous, initially healthy middle-aged (mean age 47) male cohort (the Helsinki Businessmen Study). In 1974, the men were assessed with questionnaires, clinical and laboratory examinations. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors (including body mass index [BMI], age, cholesterol, glucose, systolic blood pressure and smoking) and details of physical activity of 782 men were available. Leisure time physical activity was collapsed into 3 categories: low (n = 148), moderate (n = 398) and high activity (n = 236). Physical activity was also briefly assessed in questionnaire surveys in 1985-1986 and in 2000. Total mortality up to 2007 was retrieved from the Central Population Register. Altogether 295 men (37.7%) died during the 34-year follow-up, and leisure-time physical activity was significantly related to mortality in a step-wise manner: 45.9% (n = 68), 37.7% (n = 150), and 32.6% (n = 77) died in the low, moderate, and high activity groups, respectively (P < 0.001). With high activity group as referent and adjusted for midlife CVD risk, perceived health and fitness at baseline, hazard ratio for total mortality was 1.21 (95% confidence interval: 0.90, 1.62), and 1.61 (95% confidence interval: 1.13, 2.30) in the moderate and low activity groups, respectively. CONCLUSION: During the 34-year follow-up, leisure-time physical activity in initially healthy middle-aged men had a graded association with reduced mortality that was independent of CVD risk, glucose and BMI.