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. 2024 Mar;24 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):229-239.
doi: 10.1111/ggi.14796. Epub 2024 Jan 2.

Impact of physical activity on disability-free and disabled life expectancies in middle-aged and older adults: Data from the healthy aging longitudinal study in Taiwan

Shu-Chun Chuang  1 , Yu-Hung Chang  1 , I-Chien Wu  1 , Yao-Hwei Fang  1 , Huei-Ting Chan  1 , Ray-Chin Wu  1 , Marion M Lee  2 , Chi-Tsun Chiu  3 , Hsing-Yi Chang  1   4 , Chao Agnes Hsiung  1 , Chih-Cheng Hsu  1   4
Affiliations

Impact of physical activity on disability-free and disabled life expectancies in middle-aged and older adults: Data from the healthy aging longitudinal study in Taiwan

Shu-Chun Chuang et al. Geriatr Gerontol Int. 2024 Mar.

Abstract

Aim: Leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) promotes healthy aging; however, data on work-related physical activity (WPA) are inconsistent. This study was conducted to examine the disability-free life expectancy (DFLE) and disabled life expectancy (DLE) across physical activity levels, with a focus on WPA, in middle-aged and older adults.

Methods: Data from 5663 community-dwelling participants aged ≥55 years and enrolled in the Healthy Aging Longitudinal Study in Taiwan were evaluated. Energy expenditures from LTPA and WPA were calculated from baseline questionnaires and categorized into sex-specific cutoffs. Disability was based on repeat measures of participants' activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living. Mortality was confirmed via data linkage with the Death Certificate database. DFLE and DLE were estimated from discrete-time multistate life-table models.

Results: At age 65, women with low WPA had a DLE of 2.88 years (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.67-4.08), which was shorter than that of women without WPA (DLE, 5.24 years; 95% CI, 4.65-5.83) and with high WPA (DLE, 4.01 years; 95% CI, 2.69-5.34). DFLE and DLE were similar across WPA levels in men. DFLE tended to increase as the LTPA increased in men and women.

Conclusion: Women with low WPA had shorter DLE than did those with no or high WPA. To reduce the risks of disability associated with physical activity, public policy should advocate for older people to watch the type, amount, and intensity of their activities as these may go ignored during WPA. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2024; 24: 229-239.

Keywords: disability; life expectancy; physical activity at work.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Disability‐free and disabled life expectancies at 65 years old by leisure‐time and work‐related physical activity levels in men and women.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Disabled life expectancies at 65 years old by education and work‐related physical activity levels in men and women.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Disability‐free (a) and disabled (b) life expectancies at 65 years by work‐related physical activity level and baseline health conditions. Other musculoskeletal diseases included osteoporosis, arthritis, and spurs.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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