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Associations Of Physical Activity And Body Mass Index With Activities Of Daily Living In Older Adults

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Abstract

Research reports about the associations of leisure-time physical activity (LPA) and Body Mass Index (BMI) with activities of daily living (ADL) - or instrumental activities of daily living (IADL)-dependent disability in older adults are inconclusive. Data were obtained from the 2000 Missouri Older Adult Needs Assessment Survey. Logistic regression was used to examine the associations of LPA and BMI with ADL-or IADL-dependent disability, while controlling for factors known to be associated with LPA, BMI, ADL and IADL. ADL-or IADL dependency decreased with LPA and increased with BMI regardless of each other’s level, presence of functional limitation, education, gender, race-ethnicity, and health care coverage. Physically active individuals were less likely than inactive ones to be ADL- or IADL-dependent. BMI was modestly associated with ADL- or IADL-dependency and this relationship was confounded by LPA. If confirmed by well designed longitudinal studies, LPA and BMI independent associations with ADL- or IADL-dependent disability lends supports to a strategy for improving older adult quality of life through improved physical activity. Etiological studies on the associations between risk factors and quality of life outcomes in older adults should consider the joint confounding effect of LPA and BMI.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of staff of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Division of Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office of Surveillance, Research and Evaluation, particularly the Behavior Risk Factors Surveillance System telephone surveyors for their invaluable help in completing the data collection. We thank Dr. Ann Deaton, current director of the Division of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, Missouri Department of Mental Health, then director of the Division of Aging of the Department of Senior Services, and her staff for their support of the survey and this study. Dr. John Crews, CDC Disability Program kindly provided helpful comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Prevention Research Centers Program, Coordinating Center for Health Promotion, NCCDPHP-DACH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, N.E., MS-K45, Atlanta, GA, 30341, USA

    Eduardo J. Simoes MD

  2. Health Care and Aging Studies Branch, Coordinating Center for Health Promotion, NCCDPHP-DACH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, N.E., MS-K45, Atlanta, GA, 30341, USA

    Rosemarie Kobau MPH & Lynda Anderson PhD

  3. Behavior Surveillance Branch, Coordinating Center for Health Promotion, NCCDPHP-DACH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, N.E., MS-K45, Atlanta, GA, 30341, USA

    Ali Mokdad PhD

  4. Waterman Research Solutions, 5145 Shaw Ave., St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA

    Julie Kapp PhD & Brian Waterman MPH

Authors
  1. Eduardo J. Simoes MD
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  2. Rosemarie Kobau MPH
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  3. Julie Kapp PhD
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  4. Brian Waterman MPH
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  5. Ali Mokdad PhD
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  6. Lynda Anderson PhD
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Correspondence to Eduardo J. Simoes MD.

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Eduardo J. Simoes, MD, Prevention Research Centers Program; Rosemarie Kobau, MPH and Lynda Anderson, PhD, Health Care and Aging Studies Branch; Ali Mokdad, PhD, Behavior Surveillance Branch, all at Coordinating Center for Health Promotion, NCCDPHP-DACH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, N.E., MS-K45. Atlanta, GA 30341,USA; Julie Kapp, PhD and Brian Waterman, MPH, Waterman Research Solutions, 5145 Shaw Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.

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Simoes, E.J., Kobau, R., Kapp, J. et al. Associations Of Physical Activity And Body Mass Index With Activities Of Daily Living In Older Adults. J Community Health 31, 453–467 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-006-9024-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-006-9024-6

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