Effects of Physical Activity on Daily Physical Function in Chinese Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A Longitudinal Study from CHARLS

Abstract

Objective: Impaired daily physical function has become a common health problem among Chinese middle-aged and elderly people. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of physical activity on daily physical function in Chinese middle-aged and older adults. Methods: Data from 9056 participants in the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) from 2011 to 2018 were included in this study. Physical activity levels were expressed as metabolic equivalents, and the impairment of daily physical function was determined in a self-reported format by the Activities of Daily Living Scale and the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale. The association between different levels of physical activity and impaired daily physical function was analyzed using Cox proportional hazards regression models. Results: During a mean follow-up period of 6.73 years, 1379 middle-aged and older adults had impaired physical function. After adjusting for all covariates, participants with a physical activity volume (PAV) ≥ 600 MET-minutes/week had a 61% lower risk of impaired daily physical function than those who were physically inactive (HR = 0.39, 95% CI 0.35–0.44). Participants with a PAV of 1800–2999 MET-minutes/week had the lowest risk of impaired daily physical function (HR = 0.33, 95% CI 0.26–0.42). Subgroup analysis showed that participants with a PAV ≥ 600 MET-minutes/week had a greater reduction in the risk of impaired daily physical function among participants who were male, older than or equal to 65 years, and without respiratory disease compared to participants who were physically inactive. Conclusions: This study showed that a PAV ≥ 600 MET-minutes/week could reduce the risk of impaired daily physical function in Chinese middle-aged and elderly people. However, a higher PAV is not better; a PAV in the range of 1800–2999 MET-minutes/week can be more effective in preventing daily physical function impairment in Chinese middle-aged and elderly people.

How is family health related to health‐related quality of life among middle‐aged and older adults in rural China? A cross‐sectional study

“…For example, they can assist in getting up and down, walking across the room, transferring to and from bed, using the toilet. These daily activity care are useful in improving the individual's physical functioning (Dipietro et al., 2019; Tian & Shi, 2022). Additionally, the involvement and reinforcement of family members in cognitive training, educational interventions and regular exercise can improve mobility independence and exercise self‐efficacy in older adults (Killey & Watt, 2006; Ross et al., 2013).…”

“…For example, they can assist in getting up and down, walking across the room, transferring to and from bed, using the toilet. These daily activity care are useful in improving the individual's physical functioning (Dipietro et al, 2019;Tian & Shi, 2022).…”

Does the integration of urban and rural health insurance influence the functional limitations of the middle-aged and elderly in rural China?

“…Ultimately, ADLs and IADLs were employed as measures of functional limitations in the middle-aged and elderly population. By summarizing the 11 activities encompassed within ADLs and IADLs, we created a binary variable that denoted the presence or absence of at least one functional limitation among the study participants ( Tian & Shi, 2022 ). A binary value of 1 was assigned to indicate the presence of at least one activity-related functional limitation among the participants, while a value of 0 was assigned to indicate the absence of any functional limitations across all activities.…”

Physical activity trajectories and their determinants in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A cohort study

“…The duration of PA per day was categorised into five levels in CHARLS, that is ‘<10 min/d (min per day)’, ‘10–29 min/d’, ‘30–119 min/d’, ‘120–239 min/d’ and ‘≥240 min/d’. Since the specific duration was not mentioned in the questionnaire, we quantified the duration of PA per day as 0 (<10 min/d), 20 (10–29 min/d), 75 (30–119 min/d), 180 (120–239 min/d) and 300 (≥240 min/d) which draws on the treatment of other researchers (Tian & Shi, 2022). The frequency of PA was described as the number of active days per week (0–7 days/week).…”

“…MPA referred to the activities which make participants breathe somewhat harder than normal, including carrying light loads, bicycling at a regular pace or mopping the floor. LPA was defined as walking to travel from place to place, and any other walking (Tian & Shi, 2022). The frequency of PA was described as the number of active days per week (0-7 days/ week).…”