McInnes L, Jones E, Rochester L, Lord S, Chastin S F M, Watson A W, Little L, Briggs P
Lynn McInnes, Department of Psychology, Northumberland Building, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, Tel: +44 1912273238, email:
J Frailty Aging. 2020;9(2):68-73. doi: 10.14283/jfa.2019.35.
Mobility in older adults is associated with better quality of life. However, evidence suggests that older people spend less time out-of-home than younger adults. Traditional methods for assessing mobility have serious limitations. Wearable technologies provide the possibility of objectively assessing mobility over extended periods enabling better estimates of levels of mobility to be made and possible predictors to be explored. Eighty-six community dwelling older adults (mean age 79.8 years) had their mobility assessed for one week using GPS, accelerometry and self-report. Outcomes were: number of steps, time spent in dynamic outdoor activity, total distance travelled and total number of journeys made over the week. Assessments were also made of personal, cognitive, psychological, physical and social variables. Four regression models were calculated (one for each outcome). The models predicted 32 to 43% of the variance in levels of mobility. The ability to balance on one leg significantly predicted all four outcomes. In addition, cognitive ability predicted number of journeys made per week and time spent engaged in dynamic outdoor activity, and age significantly predicted total distance travelled. Overall estimates of mobility indicated step counts that were similar to those shown by previous research but distances travelled, measured by GPS, were lower. These findings suggest that mobility in this sample of older adults is predicted by the ability to balance on one leg. Possible interventions to improve out-of-home mobility could target balance. The fact that participants travelled shorter distances than those reported in previous studies is interesting since this high-functioning subgroup would be expected to demonstrate the highest levels.
老年人的活动能力与更好的生活质量相关。然而，有证据表明老年人离家外出的时间比年轻人少。传统的活动能力评估方法存在严重局限性。可穿戴技术提供了在较长时间内客观评估活动能力的可能性，从而能够更好地估计活动水平，并探索可能的预测因素。86名居住在社区的老年人（平均年龄79.8岁）使用全球定位系统（GPS）、加速度计和自我报告对其活动能力进行了为期一周的评估。结果包括：步数、动态户外活动时间、一周内行走的总距离以及出行总次数。还对个人、认知、心理、身体和社会变量进行了评估。计算了四个回归模型（每个结果一个）。这些模型预测了活动水平差异的32%至43%。单腿平衡能力显著预测了所有四个结果。此外，认知能力预测了每周出行次数和动态户外活动时间，年龄显著预测了总行走距离。活动能力的总体估计表明步数与先前研究结果相似，但通过GPS测量的行走距离较低。这些发现表明，单腿平衡能力可预测该老年人群体的活动能力。改善离家外出活动能力的可能干预措施可以针对平衡能力。参与者行走距离比先前研究报告的短这一事实很有意思，因为这个功能较高的亚组预计会表现出最高水平。
