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Late-Life Exercise and Difficulty with Activities of Daily Living: an 8-Year Nationwide Follow-up Study in Taiwan

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Annals of Behavioral Medicine

Abstract

Background

Many studies have shown that low levels of exercise in later life are associated with the progression of difficulties with activities of daily living. However, few have assessed the independent effect of exercise components on difficulty in performing activities of daily living and explored whether the relationship between exercise and activities of daily living is reciprocal.

Purposes

This study aimed to examine, in a nationally representative sample of older Taiwanese, the independent effect of the frequency, duration, and intensity of exercise on difficulty with activities of daily living. A secondary objective was to explore the degree to which the relationship of late-life exercise with activities of daily living is bi-directional.

Methods

Data from a fixed cohort (n = 1268, aged 70+) in 1999 with 8 years of follow-up were analyzed. Generalized estimating equation models with multivariate adjustment were performed.

Results

Participants engaging in higher levels of exercise had less difficulty with subsequent activities of daily living. Among the components of exercise, only duration, especially 30 min or more per session, was associated with fewer difficulties with activities of daily living. The relationship between exercise and activities of daily living was reciprocal, although the influence of activities of daily living on subsequent exercise levels was weaker.

Conclusions

Exercise in later life may be able to minimize the difficulties in activities of daily living and help maintain the mobility and independence of older adults.

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Acknowledgments

This work was partly supported by the Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology (Grant No. 102-2410-H-018-041-MY2). The analysis is based on original datasets provided by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in Taiwan. The interpretation and conclusions contained herein do not represent those of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Professor Fox’s contribution was in part supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre based at the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust and the University of Oxford.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate Institute of Sports and Health, National Changhua University of Education, Changhua City, Taiwan

    Po-Wen Ku PhD

  2. Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, University College London, London, UK

    Po-Wen Ku PhD & Li-Jung Chen PhD

  3. Centre for Exercise, Nutrition and Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK

    Kenneth R. Fox PhD

  4. School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

    Paul A. Gardiner PhD

  5. Department of Exercise Health Science, National Taiwan University of Sport, Taichung, Taiwan

    Li-Jung Chen PhD

Authors
  1. Po-Wen Ku PhD
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  2. Kenneth R. Fox PhD
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  3. Paul A. Gardiner PhD
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  4. Li-Jung Chen PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Li-Jung Chen PhD.

Ethics declarations

Authors Ku, Fox, Gardiner, and Chen declare that they have no conflict of interest. All procedures, including the informed consent process, were conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000.

Additional information

The manuscript has not been published, either in whole or in part, nor have the findings been posted online.

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Ku, PW., Fox, K.R., Gardiner, P.A. et al. Late-Life Exercise and Difficulty with Activities of Daily Living: an 8-Year Nationwide Follow-up Study in Taiwan. ann. behav. med. 50, 237–246 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-015-9749-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-015-9749-5

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