Associations of the audited residential neighborhood built-environment attributes with objectively-measured sedentary time among adults: a systematic review.

This study systematically reviewed the relevant studies and summarized the associations of objective measures of residential neighborhood built-environment attributes with sedentary time among adults. Published studies were obtained from PubMed and Scopus, restricting to those published in English language peer-reviewed journals to Oct. 2021. There were nine studies and 48 instances of estimated associations. Most instances showed no statistical-significant associations; by contrast, few instances showed that adults living in a neighborhood characterized by a high density of local destinations and connected intersections were associated with less sedentary time. The findings suggest that a high density of destinations and street intersections around residence may provide opportunities to transfer and access to services, thus reducing the sedentary time. Future research strengthening the research design and measurements are needed to investigate the potential explanations of the associations between residential neighborhood built environments and sedentary time in adults.

Is achieving 7,000 steps/day cross-sectionally and prospectively associated with older adults' lower-extremity performance?

BACKGROUND: Evidence regarding the association between daily steps recommendation and older adults' lower limb strength is lacking; thus, this study investigated whether taking at least 7,000 steps/day is cross-sectionally and prospectively related to lower-extremity performance in older Taiwanese adults. METHODS: There were 89 community-dwelling adults aged over 60 years (mean age: 69.5 years) attending both baseline and follow-up surveys. This study used adjusted logistic regression analysis to explore cross-sectional and prospective relationships between their accelerometer-assessed daily steps and lower-extremity performance (five-times-sit-to-stand test). RESULTS: This study found the older adults who took 7,000 steps/day were more likely to have better lower-extremity performance cross-sectionally (odds ratio [OR] = 3.82; 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 1.04, 13.95; p = 0.04), as well as to maintain or increase their lower-extremity performance prospectively (OR = 3.53; 95 % CI: 1.05, 11.84; p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support a minimum recommended level of step-based physical activity for older adults, namely, 7,000 steps/day, as beneficial for maintaining or increasing older adults' lower-extremity performance.

Is functional fitness performance a useful predictor of risk of falls among community-dwelling older adults?

BACKGROUND: Falls among older adults are a serious public health problem. Many studies indicate that positive functional fitness performance decreases the risk of falls. A limited amount of previous study has investigated the association between broad functional fitness and the fall risk. This study examines the associations between functional fitness and the risk of falling among community-dwelling older adults. METHODS: Three waves of cross-sectional data were collected from 2017 to 2019 in Taipei City, Taiwan. Six hundred sixty-five participants aged ≥65 years were randomly recruited from 12 districts of Taipei. Eight functional fitness tests (i.e., back scratch, chair-sit and-reach, 8-ft up-and-go, 30-s sit-to-stand, 30-s arm curl, 30-s single-leg stance, 2-min step, and hand grip strength tests) were performed to record the physical performance of older subjects. A Chinese version of the fall-risk questionnaire (FRQ) was used to calculate the fall risk scores. Linear regression and logistic regression were utilized to estimate the relationships of each functional fitness and fall risk. RESULT: The results showed that 37.45% of older adults had a high risk of falling. It was found for each functional fitness that performance was linearly associated with the risk of falling. Moreover, older adults with low-performance levels in all functional fitness except back-scratching were more likely to have a higher risk of falling. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicated that functional fitness performance appears to provide valid predictive guidance for reducing the risk of falling among the older population.

Neighborhood Environment and Objectively Measured Sedentary Behavior Among Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: We examined the relationships between objectively assessed neighborhood environment and the patterns of sedentary behavior among older adults. Methods: A total of 126 community-dwelling older adults (aged 65 years or above) were recruited. Data on neighborhood environmental attributes (resident density, street intersection density, sidewalk availability, accessible destinations, and accessible public transportation), accelerometer-assessed total time and patterns of sedentary behavior (number and duration of bouts), and sociodemographic characteristics were collected. Multiple linear regression models were developed. Results: After adjustment for potential confounders, greater sidewalk availability was negatively related to the number of sedentary bouts (ß = -0.185; 95% CI: -0.362, 0.015; p = 0.034) and sedentary bout duration (ß = -0.180; 95% CI: -0.354, -0.011; p = 0.037). Conclusions: This study revealed that a favorable neighborhood environment characterized by sidewalk availability is negatively associated with sedentary behavior patterns in Taiwanese older adults. These findings are critical to inform environmental policy initiatives to prevent sedentary lifestyle in older adults.