Better Mobility Keeps Seniors Healthier

 

Mobility has a large impact on
older peoples' health
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As people lose the ability to walk unaided, they tend to suffer further deterioration that can interfere with other daily living activities. A loss of mobility often comes along with a loss of independence which affects older people’s health.

As the population ages, it becomes increasingly important to identify and target interventions for those people who are at risk for further disabilities and illness. In a paper published in the September issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers closely examined factors that affected so called Health-Related Quality-of-Life (HRQOL) for a group of older Americans. The study revealed that mobility is a key factor impacting quality of life for older adults.

The study compared a physical activity intervention to a non-exercise educational intervention with 424 older adults at risk for disability. The researchers identified the status of the older people’s well-being using the so called Quality of Well-Being Scale (QWB-SA). They also checked the patient’s medical history and looked for those factors that affected HRQOL.

Surprisingly it was shown that mobility is more important for the patients’ well-being than disease. Therefore interventions addressing mobility limitations may provide significant health benefits to this population. Taken together with past research, which has demonstrated that loss of mobility predicts loss of independence, mortality, and nursing home admission, it is clear that interventions that can preserve or improve mobility in older adults could produce increases in both quantity and quality of life.

REHACARE.de; Source: Elsevier Health Sciences

- More about Elsevier Health Sciences at: www.elsevier.com