Postural balance and self-reported functional ability in 75-year-old men and women: a cross-national comparative study.

OBJECTIVE To study postural balance in relation to self-reported functional ability (mobility and ADL) and general physical activity in elderly men and women living in three different Nordic environments. PARTICIPANTS A random sample of 448 men and 556 women from among the 75-year-old residents in Glostrup, Denmark, and Goteborg, Sweden, and all the residents of relevant age (127 men and 261 women) in Jyvaskyla, Finland. MEASUREMENTS Assessment of postural balance with eyes open and closed using a piezoelectric force platform. A structured interview on self-reported functional ability and physical activity. An in-laboratory medical examination. RESULTS In spite of some differences in balanc…

Fatigue and Depressive Symptoms in Older People

Fatigue is considered an important indicator of aging-related declines in health and functional abilities. Previous studies have indicated strong associations between fatigue and depressive symptoms among younger populations and in patient groups with specific diseases. However, it is not known how different measures of fatigue are associated with depressive symptoms among general older populations. The purpose of this study is to describe the prevalence of depressive symptoms among community-dwelling older adults reporting mobility-related or general feelings fatigue. The study population consisted of 75-year-old community-living individuals ( n = 561). Both, mobility-related and general …

Factors underlying tiredness in older adults.

Background and aims: The purpose of the present study was to examine for factors related to tiredness, cross-sectionally at the age of 75 years, and factors related to subsequent onset of tiredness, from age 75 to 80 in a non-disabled community-living population. Methods: The study is part of the prospective Nordic Research on Aging Study (NORA) on the 1914 cohort in Jyvaskyla, Finland and Glostrup, Denmark. In total, 546 non-disabled older men and women participated in the cross-sectional study at age 75, and 299 persons without tiredness and disability at baseline took part in the follow-up study, from age 75 to 80. Tiredness was measured by a validated scale based on the following items:…

Item bias in self-reported functional ability among 75-year-old men and women in three Nordic localities.

The purpose of this article is to analyse item bias in a measure of self-reported functional ability among 75-year-old people in three Nordic localities. The present item bias analysis examines whether the construction of a functional ability index from several variables results in bias in relation to geographical locality and gender. Information about self-reported functional ability was gathered from surveys on 75-year-old men and women in Glostrup (Denmark), Göteborg (Sweden) and Jyväskylä (Finland). The data were collected by structured home interviews about mobility and Physical activities of daily living (PADL) in relation to tiredness, reduced speed and dependency and combined into …

Mobility-Related Fatigue, Walking Speed, and Muscle Strength in Older People

Background. Fatigue is an important early marker of functional decline among older people, but the mechanisms underlying this association are not fully understood. The purpose of the present study was to examine the association between mobility-related fatigue and walking speed and to test the degree to which muscle strength accounts for this association. Methods. The study is based on baseline (n = 523) and 5-year follow-up data (n = 292) from a cohort of 75-year-old persons. Standardized assessments include self-report measures of mobility-related fatigue (score range 0–6) and medical history, as well as performance-based assessment of walking speed and maximal isometric strength of knee …

Improving a Measure of Mobility-Related Fatigue (The Mobility-Tiredness Scale) by Establishing Item Intensity

Objectives To improve the construct validity of self‐reported fatigue by establishing a formal hierarchy of scale items and to determine whether such a hierarchy could be maintained across time (aged 75–80), sex, and nationality. Design Cohort study. Setting Two Nordic urban locations: Jyväskylä, Finland, and Glostrup, Denmark. Participants Baseline (1989/90) consisted of a random sample of citizens of Finland or Denmark born in 1914 (n = 837). At 5‐year follow‐up, excluding those lost to follow‐up and with baseline disability resulted in a sample of n = 690. Measurements The Mobility‐Tiredness (Mob‐T) Scale is a six‐item scale that requires subjects to self‐report on whether they become ti…

The impact of structural and functional characteristics of social relations as determinants of functional decline.

Objectives This study examines whether aspects of social relations at baseline are related to functional decline at 5-year follow-up among nondisabled old men and women. Methods The investigation is based on baseline and follow-up data on 651 nondisabled 75-year-old persons in Jyvaskyla (Finland) and Glostrup (Denmark). The analyses are performed separately for men and women. Possible selection problems were considered by using three outcome measures: first, functional decline among the survivors (n = 425); second, functional decline, including death, assuming that death is part of a general decline pattern (n = 565); and third, mortality (n = 651). Social relations were measured at baselin…

Tiredness and Onset of Walking Limitations in Older Adults

Depressive symptoms in late life : Results from a study in three Nordic urban localities.

The prevalence and correlates of depressive symptoms among 75-year-olds were examined in three Nordic urban localities: Gothenburg, Sweden (n=446), Jyvaskyla, Finland (n=382) and Glostrup, Denmark (n=541). Depressive symptomatology was assessed with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Prevalence figures for depressiveness seemed to be somewhat higher in Jyvaskyla than in the two other localities. Women had more depressive symptoms than men in all three areas. The lowest mean score was recorded for Danish men and the highest level of symptoms in Finnish women. The associations discovered in this Nordic comparative study between demographic characteristics and depre…

Maximal isometric muscle strength and anthropometry in 75-year-old men and women in three Nordic localities

Isometric maximal strength of hand grip, elbow flexion, knee extension, trunk extension and trunk flexion was studied in representative samples of 75-year-old residents of 3 Nordic localities: Glostrup in Denmark, Gothenburg in Sweden and Jyvaskyla in Finland. The study forms a part of a wider comparative research project analyzing the functional capacity and health of 75-year-olds in these towns. The strength measurements were carried out using standardized techniques and identical dynamometers. The results showed that the strength values of the limb muscles were significantly lower among the 75-year-olds in Jyvaskyla, both in absolute values and in relative units (N/kg body mass). For the…

Tiredness in daily activities among nondisabled old people as determinant of onset of disability.

The purpose of this article was to examine whether self-reported tiredness in daily activities at age 75 is an independent determinant of onset of disability at 5-year follow-up. The investigation is based on two subgroups of nondisabled participants of 75 year olds who survived and participated in the follow-up study 5 years later (n = 510 and 429). Persons who felt tired in their daily activities had a larger risk of becoming disabled in mobility (OR = 3.2, 95% CI = 1.4-7.6) and in daily activities (OR = 2.1, 95% CI = 1.0-4.2) compared to persons without tiredness. In addition, persons with poor cognitive function, little diversity in social relations and no physical activity had an indep…

Maximal isometric muscle strength and functional ability in daily activities among 75-year-old men and women

The purpose of this study was to analyze whether functional ability in daily activities among 75-year-old men and women is predicted by physical activity, isometric muscle strength and simple function tests. In this representative sample of a general population of 405 75-year-olds, isometric muscle strength and functional ability in daily activities were closely related (odds ratio of disability 1.2–2.1), stressing the importance of strength in the truncus, proximal and distal muscle groups for daily activities. There were strong correlations between physical activity, isometric muscle strength as well as simple function tests and ability to manage daily activities. Those with even light ph…

Frailty and Depression in Older Adults: A High-Risk Clinical Population

Objective To identify salient characteristics of frailty that increase risk of death in depressed elders. Methods Data were from the Nordic Research on Ageing Study from research sites in Denmark, Sweden, and Finland. Participants were 1,027 adults aged 75 years (436 men and 591 women). Time of death was obtained, providing a maximum survival time of 11.08 years (initial evaluation took place between 1988 and 1991). Results Depressed elders showed greater baseline impairments in each frailty characteristic (gait speed, grip strength, physical activity levels, and fatigue). Simultaneous models including all four frailty characteristics showed slow gait speed (hazard ratio: 1.84; 95% confiden…