Doing housework and having regular daily routine standing out as factors associate with physical function in the older people.
Front Public Health
; 11: 1281291, 2023.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38089027
ABSTRACT
Background and objectives:
Nationwide data were used to explore factors associated with physical function in order to identify interventions that could improve and maintain physical function in the older people.Methods:
The physical function was assessed by gait speed (GS). We selected 2,677 male and 2,668 female older adults (aged ≥60) who could perform the GS test as study subjects. GS was measured by having subjects walk across and back a 10-m course. A gait speed less than 20% that of a reference population (<0.7 m/s) was used as the definition of slow gait speed (SGS). Co-morbidity, polypharmacy, medical expenses, need for care, and hospitalization were used to evaluate health status. A stepwise logistic regression model was used to determine factors associated with SGS.Results:
SGS was associated with poorer health status, higher medical cost, lower ranking on the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and decreased Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE). Co-morbidity (OR = 1.81, 1.58-2.07), polypharmacy (OR = 1.47, 1.25-1.74), MMSE <24 (OR = 1.85, 1.54-2.22), and GDS ≥ 11 (OR = 1.40, 1.18-1.65) were associated with SGS. In contrast, doing housework (DHW, OR = 0.43, 0.38-0.49), having a regular daily routine (RDR, OR = 0.64, 0.45-0.91), and current alcohol consumption (OR = 0.74, 0.62-0.90) were inversely associated with SGS. DHW plus having RDR could greatly reduce the risk of SGS (OR = 0.29, 0.19-0.43).Conclusion:
Poor physical function is associated with poorer health status in Chinese older people. Maintaining a regular daily routine and doing some housework may be important factors that can help older people preserve their physical function.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Walking Speed
/
Household Work
Limits:
Aged
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Female
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Humans
/
Male
Language:
En
Journal:
Front Public Health
Year:
2023
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
China
Country of publication:
CH
/
SUIZA
/
SUÍÇA
/
SWITZERLAND