The objective of this study was to determine if different measures of physical functioning (PF) can predict mortality independent of self-rated health (SRH) and physical activity (PA). A baseline sample of 6,173 adults 65+ years of age were included from the 2001-2018 NHANES. A SRH variable was created with categories of excellent/very good, good, fair, and poor. PA status was based on participants reporting either no (inactive) or at least some (active) recreational PA. Seven different PF measures were used and included a 19-item total PF score (PFT), activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), leisure and social activities (LSA), general physical activities (GPA), lower extremity mobility (LEM), and an IRT-derived total PF score (PFIRT). All PF measures were scored so larger values represented greater PF limitation. Seven Cox regression models were employed each with a different PF measure and adjusted for age, sex, race, income, SRH, PA, BMI, BSI, smoking, alcohol consumption, and comorbidities. A total of 2,103 deaths occurred during a median follow-up of 10.3 years. Risk of death decreased for 1st (HR = 0.70, 0.60-0.82), 2nd (HR = 0.77, 0.64-0.93), and 3rd (HR = 0.82, 0.72-0.94) PFIRT quartiles (reference: 4th), increased for poor (HR = 2.11, 1.51-2.97), fair (HR = 1.82, 1.54-2.15), and good (HR = 1.20, 1.07-1.35) SRH (reference: excellent/very good), and increased for inactive (HR = 1.27, 1.12-1.43) PA status (reference: active). All PF models saw similar results less LSA where LSA lost its predictive ability. These findings indicate that SRH, PA, and PF are robust independent predictors of all-cause mortality in older adults.
Studies have indicated that participation in physical activity (PA) enhances health and reduces mortality rates. The current study investigated longitudinal PA levels in Greek older individuals, analyzing data of the Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). In addition, predictors of the PA levels in 2020 were examined including the PA measures in 2017 and various variables. The SHARE is a cross-national database of non-institutionalized older population from 28 European countries. The current study analyzed the Greek sample of SHARE’s waves 7 and 8. In particular, 1767 individuals, 748 men and 1.019 women (69.40 ± 9.56 years) filled in the PA questions in both studies. To identify differences over time and PA predictors, Wilcoxon tests and Multinomial regression analyses were conducted respectively, due to the categorical form of the PA variables. Significant decreases were found between the vigorous PA measures in 2017 and 2020 (z = -2.80, p < 0.05), as well as between the moderate PA assessments in 2017 and 2020 (z = -4.88, p < 0.01). Young age, low alcohol consumption, few chronic diseases and activities’ limitations, low depression, as well as positive feelings and satisfaction with life and high levels of longitudinal PA, life expectancy and participation in sport and social clubs were significant predictors of high PA levels. Therefore, to enhance PA levels, interventions promoting active and healthy aging, positive feelings, life satisfaction and social activities should be adopted. Article visualizations:
