Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada.
Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo, Nigeria.
BMC Geriatr. 2024 Nov 27;24(1):972. doi: 10.1186/s12877-024-05582-1.
Mobility is fundamental to healthy ageing and quality of life. Mobility decline has been associated with functional impairment, falls, disability, dependency, and death among older adults. We explored the sociodemographic determinants of mobility decline among community-dwelling older Canadians.
This study was a secondary analysis of a six-year follow-up of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Ageing (CLSA). Our analysis was based on 3882 community-dwelling older adults 65 years or older whose mobility was measured using timed-up and go (TUG) and 4-meter walk (4MWT) tests at baseline and follow-ups 1 and 2 after three- and six-year intervals, respectively. We analysed the cross-sectional and longitudinal association, main and interaction effects of the participants' sociodemographic characteristics on mobility decline using chi-square, Pearson's correlation, mixed-design repeated measures ANOVA, and bivariate and multivariate linear regression tests.
At baseline, 52% of the participants were female, 70.4% were married, and the average age was 68.82 ± 2.78 years. Mean TUG and 4MWT scores were 9.59 ± 1.98 s and 4.29 ± 0.95 s, respectively. There was a strong positive longitudinal correlation between TUG and 4MWT (r = 0.65 to 0.75, p < 0.001), indicating concurrent validity of 4MWT. The multivariate linear regression (for TUG) showed that older age (β = 0.088, p < 0.001), being a female (β=-0.035, p < 0.001), retired (β=-0.058, p < 0.001), Canadian born (β=-0.046, p < 0.001), non-Caucasian (β=-0.063, p < 0.001), tenant (β = 0.050, p < 0.001), having no spouse/partner (β=-0.057, p < 0.001), household income of $50,000-$99,999 (β = 0.039, p < 0.001), wealth/investment lower than $50,000 (β=-0.089, p < 0.001), lower social status (β=-0.018,p = 0.025), secondary education and below (β = 0.043, p < 0.001), and living in certain provinces compared to others, were significant predictors of a six-year mobility decline.
Our study underscored the impact of modifiable and non-modifiable sociodemographic determinants of mobility trajectory. There is a need for nuanced ageing policies that support mobility in older adults, considering sociodemographic inequalities through equitable resource distribution, including people of lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
行动能力是健康老龄化和生活质量的基础。行动能力下降与老年人的功能障碍、跌倒、残疾、依赖和死亡有关。我们探讨了社区居住的加拿大老年人行动能力下降的社会人口学决定因素。
本研究是对加拿大老龄化纵向研究（CLSA）六年随访的二次分析。我们的分析基于 3882 名 65 岁或以上的社区居住的老年人，他们的行动能力使用计时上下和 4 米步行（4MWT）测试在基线和随访 1 和 2 时进行测量，分别在 3 年和 6 年后进行。我们使用卡方检验、皮尔逊相关、混合设计重复测量方差分析以及双变量和多变量线性回归检验分析了参与者的社会人口统计学特征对移动性下降的横断面和纵向关联、主要和交互效应。
在基线时，52%的参与者为女性，70.4%为已婚，平均年龄为 68.82±2.78 岁。平均 TUG 和 4MWT 分数分别为 9.59±1.98 s 和 4.29±0.95 s。TUG 和 4MWT 之间存在很强的纵向正相关（r=0.65 至 0.75，p<0.001），表明 4MWT 的同时有效性。多元线性回归（用于 TUG）表明，年龄较大（β=0.088，p<0.001）、女性（β=-0.035，p<0.001）、退休（β=-0.058，p<0.001）、在加拿大出生（β=-0.046，p<0.001）、非白种人（β=-0.063，p<0.001）、租户（β=0.050，p<0.001）、没有配偶/伴侣（β=-0.057，p<0.001）、家庭收入为 50,000 至 99,999 美元（β=0.039，p<0.001）、财富/投资低于 50,000 美元（β=-0.089，p<0.001）、社会地位较低（β=-0.018，p=0.025）、中学及以下教育程度（β=0.043，p<0.001）以及与其他省份相比居住在某些省份，是六年移动性下降的显著预测因素。
我们的研究强调了可改变和不可改变的社会人口学决定因素对移动轨迹的影响。需要制定细致入微的老龄化政策，通过公平分配资源来支持老年人的移动能力，包括考虑社会经济背景较低的人群。
