Physical activity and functional limitations in older adults: a systematic review related to Canada's Physical Activity Guidelines

By D. H. Paterson, D. Warburton. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 2010

911 citations recorded by the source corpus.

BackgroundThe purpose was to conduct systematic reviews of the relationship between physical activity of healthy community-dwelling older (>65 years) adults and outcomes of functional limitations, disability, or loss of independence.MethodsProspective cohort studies with an outcome related to functional independence or to cognitive function were searched, as well as exercise training interventions that reported a functional outcome. Electronic database search strategies were used to identify citations which were screened (title and abstract) for inclusion. Included articles were reviewed to complete standardized data extraction tables, and assess study quality. An established system of assessing the level and grade of evidence for recommendations was employed.ResultsSixty-six studies met inclusion criteria for the relationship between physical activity and functional independence, and 34 were included with a cognitive function outcome. Greater physical activity of an aerobic nature (categorized by a variety of methods) was associated with higher functional status (expressed by a host of outcome measures) in older age. For functional independence, moderate (and high) levels of physical activity appeared effective in conferring a reduced risk (odds ratio ~0.5) of functional limitations or disability. Limitation in higher level performance outcomes was reduced (odds ratio ~0.5) with vigorous (or high) activity with an apparent dose-response of moderate through to high activity. Exercise training interventions (including aerobic and resistance) of older adults showed improvement in physiological and functional measures, and suggestion of longer-term reduction in incidence of mobility disability. A relatively high level of physical activity was related to better cognitive function and reduced risk of developing dementia; however, there were mixed results of the effects of exercise interventions on cognitive function indices.ConclusionsThere is a consistency of findings across studies and a range of outcome measures related to functional independence; regular aerobic activity and short-term exercise programmes confer a reduced risk of functional limitations and disability in older age. Although a precise characterization of a minimal or effective physical activity dose to maintain functional independence is difficult, it appears moderate to higher levels of activity are effective and there may be a threshold of at least moderate activity for significant outcomes.

Subfields: Geriatrics and Gerontology, Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation, Physiology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/a0b781ae517684c256f367d6616993b65415668c

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In Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation

C. Tudor-Locke

In Physiology

Citations in the corpus

Physical activity in older age: perspectives for healthy ageing and frailty (2016, background): “An expectation may be that gains in strength and power will improve walking, chair rising and stair negotiation, but several studies failed to confirm this (Beijersbergen et al. 2013; Paterson and Warburton 2010; Steib et al. 2010).”
Systematic review of sedentary behaviour and health indicators in school-aged children and youth (2011, background): “Engaging in regular physical activity is widely accepted as an effective preventative measure for a variety of health risk factors across all age, gender, ethnic and socioeconomic subgroups [1-6].”
The association between social support and physical activity in older adults: a systematic review (2017, background): “Performing sufficient physical activity (PA) is a primary modifiable determinant of health especially pertinent to Active Ageing because it is known to have vast mental and physical health benefits for people of all ages [6, 7].”
Summary of the evidence on modifiable risk factors for cognitive decline and dementia: A population‐based perspective (2015, neutral): “[69] Paterson DH, Warburton DE.”
New Canadian physical activity guidelines. (2011, result): “As with the adult guidelines, evidence clearly demonstrates the dose-response relationship between increased physical activity and health benefits (Paterson and Warburton 2010; Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee 2008; WHO 2010), but it is unclear the best frequency of physical activity ”
Physical activity: Health impact, prevalence, correlates and interventions (2017, background): “…global recommendations. recent systematic reviews/meta-analyses of the literature (Arem et al., 2015; Lee et al., 2014; Löllgen, Böckenhoff, & Knapp, 2009; Paterson & Warburton, 2010; Warburton et al., 2010; Wen et al., 2011) have revealed marked risk reductions with relatively small volumes of PA.”
How many steps/day are enough? For older adults and special populations (2011, background): “In addition, public health guidelines categorically recognize the importance of other types of nonambulatory activity, including resistance training [3,5].”
Systematic review of the health benefits of physical activity and fitness in school-aged children and youth (2010, neutral): “This report was part of a much larger project around Canada's physical activity guidelines, and comparable systematic reviews for adults [10] and older adults [11] have also been published in the journal.”