Daily moderate-intensity physical activities and optimism promote healthy ageing in rural northern Sweden: a cross-sectional study

Self-rated health in old age, related factors and survival: A 20-Year longitudinal study within the Silver-MONICA cohort

INTRODUCTION

Self-rated health (SRH) offers insights into the evolving health demographics of an ageing population.

AIM

To assess change in SRH from old age to very old age and their associations with health and well-being factors, and to investigate the association between SRH and survival.

METHODS

All participants in the MONICA 1999 re-examination born before 1940 (n = 1595) were included in the Silver-MONICA baseline cohort. The Silver-MONICA follow-up started in 2016 included participants in the Silver-MONICA baseline cohort aged 80 years or older. Data on SRH was available for 1561 participants at baseline with 446 of them also participating in the follow-up. The follow-up examination included a wide variety of measurements and tests.

FINDINGS

Most participants rated their health as "Quite good" (54.5 %) at baseline. Over the study period, 42.6 % had stable SRH, 40.6 % had declined, and 16.8 % had improved. Changes in SRH were at follow-up significantly associated with age, pain, nutrition, cognition, walking aid use, self-paced gait speed, lower extremity strength, independence in activities of daily living, weekly physical exercise, outdoor activity, participation in organized activities, visiting others, morale, and depressive symptoms. SRH at baseline was significantly associated with survival (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrates associations between changes in SRH and a multitude of health- and wellbeing-related factors, as well as a relation between survival and SRH, accentuating their relevance within the ageing population.

Assessment of the Psychophysical Sphere and Functional Status of Women Aged 75-90 Living Alone and in Nursing Homes

Aim: To assess the psychophysical sphere and functional status of women aged 75–90 living alone and in nursing homes. Methods: 23 women living in nursing homes (NH) and 20 living alone (HOME) underwent the following tests: Up and Go Test, Chair Stand Test, assessment of daily physical activity levels using pedometers, Mini-Mental State Examination, Groningen Activity Restriction Scale, Geriatric Depression Scale, and WHOQOL-Bref. Results: It was shown that the subjects living by themselves performed a greater amount of daily physical activity, although there was not significant difference between the two groups in the Up and Go Test result. There were not statistically significant differences in the self-assessment of the mental sphere, but significant differences were found in the self-evaluation of the physical sphere. In the NH group, subjects with and without depression did not differ in terms of the amount of daily physical activity and functional test results. Women with depression from the HOME group were less physically active and had worse functional fitness. Conclusions: Women living alone performed a greater amount of daily physical activity, but the functional status of women in both groups did not differ in a statistically significant way. The groups didn’t differ statistically significantly in terms of psychological self-assessment.