Lower Body Functioning Prevalence and Correlates in Older American Indians in a Southeastern Tribe: The Native Elder Care Study

Abstract

The objective of this study was to use performance-based measurements to identify, in a population of community-dwelling American Indians aged ≥55 years, the prevalence and correlates of lower body functioning. Data were collected as part of a cross-sectional study of disability with members of a tribe in the southeast. Lower body functioning was measured with the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) where higher scores reflect better functioning. Independent variables included age, sex, marital status, educational attainment, current cigarette smoking, physical activity, body mass index, hearing loss, vision loss, bone or joint trauma, chronic pain syndrome, osteoporosis, medical comorbidity, and depressive symptomatology. The total composite SPPB score was 8.80± 3.4 and declined significantly with increasing age and was negatively associated with unmarried status, physical inactivity, vision loss, bone or joint trauma, and medical comorbidity after adjustment for all other factors in the model. Likewise, all individual SPPB component scores declined significantly with increasing age, and were negatively associated with physical inactivity and comorbidity. In addition, the balance test score was significantly and negatively associated with unmarried status and vision loss; gait speed was negatively related to unmarried status; and the chair stand test scores were negatively related to body mass index, vision loss, bone or joint trauma, and chronic pain syndrome. In the clinical setting, the SPPB can be an important screening tool for adverse health-related events. Further studies are needed to investigate the determinants and sequelae of physical dysfunction in this population.

Self‐Reported Hearing Status Is Associated with Lower Limb Physical Performance, Perceived Mobility, and Activities of Daily Living in Older Community‐Dwelling Men and Women

“…To the knowledge of the authors of the current study, only one previous study has investigated the associations between hearing and the SPPB . It found no significant association between self‐reported hearing loss and SPPB total score in 328 community‐dwelling American Indians aged 55 and older.…”

“…To the knowledge of the authors of the current study, only one previous study has investigated the associations between hearing and the SPPB. 11 It found no significant association between self-reported hearing loss and SPPB total score in 328 community-dwelling American Indians aged 55 and older. The purpose of that study was to examine a variety of health conditions-not just hearing loss-and it appears that the sample size in their study was too small to detect differences between hearing groups, although a trend could be seen.…”

“…The associations between hearing and physical performance have been investigated in only a few studies. One study found no association between self‐reported hearing loss and Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) scores in American Indians aged 55 and older . Two studies in older adults have shown that persons with audiometrically determined hearing impairment have a slower walking speed than those with normal hearing .…”

Association of depressive symptomology and psychological trauma with diabetes control among older American Indian women: Does social support matter?

“…The T2DM prevalence in our sample is similar to the prevalence estimated for all of those aged ≥65 years in the same Indian Health Service region, which is 60% (United South and Eastern Tribes, 2015). Also, our sample is similar to the parent study’s larger sample of 505 of both men and women with respect to educational attainment (Goins, Innes, & Dong, 2012). …”

Quedas em idosos domiciliados e sua associação com as atividades da vida diária

“…Atualmente, as quedas representam 12% das mortes no mundo entre os idosos e 40% dos óbitos por lesões nesta faixa etária. A queda é considerada a quinta causa de morte na velhice e a primeira por causa externa [5][6][7] . Aproximadamente de 5% a 10% de todas as quedas em idosos que vivem na comunidade resultam em fratura e graves lesões de tecido mole e cabeça, mais de 30% passam a ter declínio em sua funcionalidade [8][9][10] .…”