Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA), Barker St, Randwick, NSW, 2031, Australia.
University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
BMC Public Health. 2020 Sep 4;20(1):1353. doi: 10.1186/s12889-020-09443-5.
The population prevalence of many diseases is known. However, little is known of the population prevalence of motor impairments.
The aim of this study was to determine the point prevalence of specific motor impairments (weakness, fatigue, contracture, impaired balance and impaired coordination) in the population aged 55 years and older resident in New South Wales, Australia in 2018. 55,210 members of the 45 and Up cohort were invited to participate in a follow-up survey that included questions on motor impairment. Responses were received from 20,141 people (36%). Calibrated estimates of prevalence of specific motor impairments, and of having at least one motor impairment, were obtained using survey weights based on the known multivariate distributions of age, gender and geographical location (28 regions) in the population.
More than one-third of adults aged over 55 residing in New South Wales have difficulty using their hands, arms or legs. The prevalence of each motor impairment (muscle weakness, fatigue, contracture, impaired balance or impaired coordination) in this population is between 4 and 12%. The prevalence of at least one of these impairments is 21%. The prevalence of at least one impairment in people aged 85 and over is 42%. Women consistently had more difficulty using hands, arms and legs, and more motor impairment, than men. Difficulty using hands, arms and legs and the prevalence of all motor impairments, especially poor balance, greatly increased with age.
The prevalence of specific motor impairments in older Australian adults is high - comparable to that of the most prevalent diseases. There may be merit in considering motor impairment as a significant public health problem in its own right.
许多疾病的人群患病率是已知的。然而，人群运动障碍的患病率知之甚少。
本研究旨在确定 2018 年澳大利亚新南威尔士州 55 岁及以上人群中特定运动障碍（虚弱、疲劳、挛缩、平衡受损和协调障碍）的时点患病率。45 岁及以上队列的 55210 名成员被邀请参加一项随访调查，该调查包括运动障碍相关问题。共有 20141 人（36%）做出了回应。使用基于人群中年龄、性别和地理位置（28 个地区）的已知多元分布的调查权重，得出特定运动障碍和至少有一种运动障碍的患病率的校准估计值。
超过三分之一居住在新南威尔士州的 55 岁以上成年人在使用手、手臂或腿部方面有困难。该人群中每种运动障碍（肌肉无力、疲劳、挛缩、平衡受损或协调障碍）的患病率在 4%至 12%之间。至少有一种这些障碍的患病率为 21%。85 岁及以上人群中至少有一种障碍的患病率为 42%。女性在使用手、手臂和腿部方面以及在运动障碍方面比男性更困难。使用手、手臂和腿部的困难程度以及所有运动障碍的患病率，尤其是平衡能力差，随着年龄的增长而大大增加。
澳大利亚老年成年人中特定运动障碍的患病率很高——与最常见疾病的患病率相当。将运动障碍视为一个独立的重大公共卫生问题可能是有意义的。
