Economic Adversity Transitions From Childhood to Older Adulthood Are Differentially Associated With Later-Life Physical Performance Measures in Men and Women in Middle and High-Income Sites

Pain symptoms and physical performance in older adults: cross-sectional findings from the International Mobility in Aging Study (IMIAS)

PURPOSE

To analyze the associations between pain and physical performance in different aging contexts.

METHODS

Data from 1725 older adults from Canada, Brazil, Colombia, and Albania from the 2014 wave of the IMIAS were used to assess the associations between Back Pain (BP) or Lower Limb Pain (LLP) and physical performance by the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB). Three binary logistic regression models adjusted for sex, age, study site, education, income sufficiency, BMI, depressive symptoms, and chronic conditions were used to estimate the associations between LLP or BP and SPPB. The SPPB was classified into good performance (8 points or more) and poor physical performance (< 8 points).

RESULTS

The mean age of the older men was 71.2 (± 3.0) and the mean age of the women was 71.2 (± 2.8) years. Older men (72.8%, p < 0.05) and women (86.1%, p-value < 0.05) from Albania had the highest frequencies of self-reported general pain. Older women in Colombia had the highest frequencies of LLP or BP (33.5%, p-value < 0.05). In the fully adjusted logistic regression model, LLP or BP was significantly associated with poor SPPB (OR = 0.48, 0.35 to 0.66 95% CI, p < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Pain symptoms are associated with reduced physical performance in older people, even when adjusted for other clinical and sociodemographic factors. Protocols for aiming to increase the level of physical activity to manage pain should be incorporated into health care strategies.

Gender-Specific Associations between Late-Life Disability and Socioeconomic Status: Findings from the International Mobility and Aging Study (IMIAS)

Disability is a dynamic process and can be influenced by a sociocultural environment. This study aimed to determine whether the associations between socioeconomic status and late-life disability differ by gender in a multi-sociocultural sample from different countries. A cross-sectional study was developed with 1362 older adults from The International Mobility in Aging Study. Late-life disability was measured through the disability component of the Late-Life Function Disability Instrument. Level of education, income sufficiency and lifelong occupation were used as indicators of SES. The results indicated that a low education level β = -3.11 [95% CI -4.70; -1.53] and manual occupation β = -1.79 [95% -3.40; -0.18] were associated with frequency decrease for men, while insufficient income β = -3.55 [95% CI -5.57; -1.52] and manual occupation β = -2.25 [95% CI -3.89; -0.61] played a negative role in frequency for women. For both men β = -2.39 [95% -4.68; -0.10] and women β = -3.39 [95% -5.77; -1.02], insufficient income was the only factor associated with greater perceived limitation during life tasks. This study suggested that men and women had different late-life disability experiences. For men, occupation and education were associated with a decrease in the frequency of participation, while for women this was associated with income and occupation. Income was associated with perceived limitation during daily life tasks for both genders.

Social and Economic Predictors of Worse Frailty Status Occurrence Across Selected Countries in North and South America and Europe

Background

Frailty, a state of vulnerability to poor resolution of homoeostasis after a health stressor, may be a result of cumulative decline in many physiological systems across the life course and its prevalence and incidence rates vary widely depending on the place and population subgroup.

Objective

This study aims to examine social and economic factors as predictors of worse frailty status over 2 years of follow-up in a sample of community-dwelling older adults from the International Mobility in Aging Study.

Methods

We analyzed 2012 baseline and 2014 follow-up (n = 1,724) data on participants from a populational-based, longitudinal study conducted in 4 countries (e.g., Brazil, Colombia, Albania, and Canada). Frailty was defined according to the Fried's phenotype and Poisson regression models with robust standard errors were performed to estimate the relative risks of becoming frail.

Results

In our study, 366 (21.2%) participants migrated to a worse stage of frailty. After statistical adjustment (e.g., participant age, sex, and study site), insufficient income (RR = 1.40; 95% CI = 1.00-1.96) and having partner support (RR = 0.80; 95% CI = 0.64-1.01) were predictors of incident frailty status.

Conclusion

Notably, transitions in frailty status were observed even in a short range of time, with sociodemographic factors predicting incident frailty.

Urinary Incontinence Is Associated With Physical Performance Decline in Community-Dwelling Older Women: Results From the International Mobility in Aging Study

Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate the influence of urinary incontinence (UI) on physical performance. Method: In prospective analyses from the International Mobility in Aging Study (IMIAS), 915 women (65-74 years) from Canada, Colombia, Albania, and Brazil were evaluated in relation to self-reported UI (past week) and physical performance (Short Physical Performance Battery [SPPB]), with reevaluation after 2 years. Linear mixed models examined the influence of UI on SPPB, adjusted by covariates (age, study site, education, income sufficiency, body mass index [BMI] and parity). Results: Women reporting some UI presented lower SPPB mean (β = -0.41, p = .009) and a greater reduction (β = -0.53, p = .001) over 2 years than those reporting no UI. Discussion: Compared with no reported UI, some UI was associated with worse and more pronounced declines in physical performance over 2 years. This study highlights the importance of practices to reduce UI to contribute to healthier aging.