Impact of physical activity on quality of life in the elderly

Article Sidebar

PDF
Published: 2008-06-26
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18051/UnivMed.2008.v27.57-64
Keywords:
Physical activity, quality of life, elderly

Main Article Content

Rina K. Kusumaratna
Department of Community Medicine, Medical Faculty, Trisakti University

Abstract

The rapid growth of the elderly population is having an impact on the maintenance of a healthy mental and physical state. The aim of this study was to assess the correlation of physical activity and quality of life in the elderly. The participants in this study were 21 male and 80 female elderly persons (66.4 ± 6.3 years, mean ± SD) recruited from the community in 2 subdistricts in South Jakarta. Data were collected on the quality of life (QOL) using the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire that contains 26 items, 24 of them making up the 4 domains of physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environment. The Short Form (SF) International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was used to measure the habitual practice of physical activities of the elderly. Subjects were separated into groups with low (n = 25), moderate (n= 37) and high activity level (n = 39), according to their position on the physical activity scale. The QOL scores in all four domains were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the group reporting a higher level of physical activity. After adjustment for age, the more active group had higher values in all four QOL domains as follows: physical health (p = 0.027), psychological health (p = 0.000), social relationships (p = 0.005), and environment (p = 0.000). Healthy older adults who had higher physical activity had higher QOL scores than those who were physically less active. Therefore, incorporating more physical activity into the lifestyles of sedentary or minimally active elderly persons may improve their QOL.

Article Details

Issue

Vol. 27 No. 2 (2008)

Section

Review Article

The journal allows the authors to hold the copyright without restrictions and allow the authors to retain publishing rights without restrictions.

How to Cite

Impact of physical activity on quality of life in the elderly. (2008). Universa Medicina, 27(2), 57-64. https://doi.org/10.18051/UnivMed.2008.v27.57-64

References

Brown M, Sinacore DR, Ehsani AA, Binder EF, Holloszy JO, Kohrt WM. Low-intensity exercise as a modifier of physical frailty in older adults. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2000; 81: 960-5.

Alexander NB, Galecki AT, Grenier ML. Task-specific resistance training to improve the ability of activities of daily living-impaired older adults to rise from a bed and from a chair. J Am Geriatr Soc 2001; 49: 1418-27.

Binder EF, Schechtman KB, Ehsani AA. Effects of exercise training on frailty in community-dwelling older adults: results of a randomized, controlled trial. J Am Geriatr Soc 2002; 50: 1921-8.

Drewnowski A, Evans WJ. Nutrition, physical activity, and quality of life in older adults. J Gerontol 2001; 56A: 89-94.

Cella D, Nowinski CJ. Measuring quality of life in chronic illness: the functional assessment of chronic illness therapy measurement system. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2002; 83: S10-S17.

Rejeski WJ, Mihalko SL. Physical activity and quality of life in older adults. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2001; 56: 23-35.

The WHOQOL Group. Development of the World Health Organization WHOQOL-BREF quality of life assessment. Psychol Med 1998; 28: 551-8.

Skevington SM, Lotfy M, O’Connell KA. The World Health Organization’s WHOQOL-BREF quality of life assessment: psychometric properties and results of the international field trial. A report from the WHOQOL group. Qual Life Res 2004; 13: 299-310.

Stewart KJ, Turner KL, Bacher AC. Are fitness, activity, and fatness associated with health-related quality of life and mood in older persons? J Cardiopulm Rehabil 2003; 23: 115-21.

King AC, Pruitt LA, Phillips W, Oka R, Rodenburg A, Haskell WL. Comparative effects of two physical activity programs on measured and perceived physical functioning and other health-related quality of life outcomes in older adults. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2000; 55: M74-M83.

Booth M. Assessment of physical activity: an international perspective. Res Q Exerc Sport 2000; 71: 114-20.

Oja P, Craig CL, Marshal A, Sjorstrom M, Bauman AE, Booth ML, Ainsworth BE, et al. International Physical Activity Questionnaire: 12 country reliability and validity. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2003; 35: 1381-95.

IPAQ Research Committee. Guidelines for data processing and analysis of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ): short and long forms. 2005. Available at: http://www.ipaq.ki. se. Accessed October 10, 2007.

Pate RR, Pratt M, Blair SN, Haskell WL, Macera CA, Bouchard C, et al. Physical activity and public health. A recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine. JAMA 1995, 273: 402-7.

Salim OC, Sudharma N, Kusumaratna RK, Hidayat A. Validity and reliability of World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF to assess the quality of life in the elderly. Univ Med 2007; 26: 27-38.

The WHOQOL Group. Development of the World Health Organization WHOQOL-BREF quality of life assessment. Psychol Med 1998; 28: 551-8.

World Health Organization. Appropriate body-mass index for Asian populations and its implications for policy and intervention strategies. Lancet 2004; 363: 157-63.

Stewart AL, Mills KM, Sepsis PG, King AC, McLellan BY, Roitz K, et al. Evaluation of CHAMPS, a physical activity promotion program for older adults. Ann Behav Med 1997; 19: 353-61.

Acree LS, Longfors J, Fjeldstad AS, Fjeldstad C, Schank B, Nickell KJ, et al. Physical activity is related to quality of life in older adults. Health Qual Life Outcomes 2006; 4: 37-42.

Rejeski WJ, Brawley LR, Schumaker SA. Physical activity and health-related quality of life. Exerc Sport Sci Rev 1996; 24: 71-108.

King MB, Whipple RH, Gruman CA, Judge JO, Schmidt JA, Wolfson LI. The performance enhancement project: improving physical performance in older adults. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2002; 83: 1060-9.

Maddison R, Mhurchu CN, Jiang Y, Vander Hoorn S, Rodgers A, Lawes CMM, et al. International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and New Zealand Physical Activity Questionnaire (NZPAQ): a doubly labelled water validation. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 2007; 4: 62-70.