The Role of Physical Function in the Association between Physical Activity and Gait Speed in Older Adults: A Mediation Analysis

Marcelo de Maio Nascimento; Élvio Rúbio Gouveia; Adilson Marques; Bruna R Gouveia; Priscila Marconcin; Cíntia França; Andreas Ihle

doi:10.3390/ijerph191912581

The Role of Physical Function in the Association between Physical Activity and Gait Speed in Older Adults: A Mediation Analysis

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Oct 1;19(19):12581. doi: 10.3390/ijerph191912581.

Authors

Marcelo de Maio Nascimento¹, Élvio Rúbio Gouveia^{2

3

4}, Adilson Marques^{5

6}, Bruna R Gouveia^{3

4

7

8}, Priscila Marconcin^{5

9}, Cíntia França^{2

3}, Andreas Ihle^{4

10

11}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physical Education, Federal University of Vale do São Francisco, Petrolina 56304-917, Brazil.
² Department of Physical Education and Sport, University of Madeira, 9020-105 Funchal, Portugal.
³ Laboratory for Robotics and Engineering System (LARSYS), Interactive Technologies Institute, 9020-105 Funchal, Portugal.
⁴ Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland.
⁵ Interdisciplinary Centre for the Study of Human Performance (CIPER), Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of Lisbon, 1495-751 Lisbon, Portugal.
⁶ Instituto de Saúde Ambiental (ISAMB), Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, 1649-020 Lisbon, Portugal.
⁷ Regional Directorate of Health, Secretary of Health of the Autonomous Region of Madeira, 9004-515 Funchal, Portugal.
⁸ Saint Joseph of Cluny Higher School of Nursing, 9050-535 Funchal, Portugal.
⁹ KinesioLab, Research Unit in Human Movement Analysis, Piaget Institute, 2805-059 Almada, Portugal.
¹⁰ Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland.
¹¹ Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research LIVES-Overcoming Vulnerability: Life Course Perspectives, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.

Abstract

Adequate levels of physical function (PF) are essential for vulnerable older adults to perform their daily tasks safely and remain autonomous. Our objective was to explore the mediating role of PF in the relationship between physical activity (PA) and gait speed (GS) in a large sample of older adults from the north of Brazil. This is a cross-sectional study that analyzed 697 older adults (mean age 70.35 ± 6.86 years) who participated in the project "Health, Lifestyle, and Physical Fitness in Older Adults in Amazonas" (SEVAAI). PA was assessed using the Baecke Questionnaire, PF using the Senior Fitness Test, and GS using the 50-foot Walk Test. Mediation pathways were analyzed to test the possible mediating role of PF between specific PA domains (PA-total score, PA-housework, PA-sport, PA-leisure) and GS. Regarding PA-total, the analysis showed that high-performance GS was partially mediated in approximately 19% by better PF performance. Moreover, the PF could partially mediate the association between PA-sport and PA-leisure with GS, at levels of approximately 9% and 46%, respectively. An inverse relationship was observed between PA-housework (sedentary lifestyle) and GS. This association was partially mediated to an extent of approximately 9% by better PF performance. We conclude that PF plays a crucial role in mediating the association between PA and GS among vulnerable older adults.

Keywords: aging; mobility; older adults; physical activity; physical function; sedentary behavior; vulnerability.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Cross-Sectional Studies
Exercise
Mediation Analysis*
Sedentary Behavior
Walking Speed*

Grants and funding

We acknowledge support from the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research LIVES–Overcoming vulnerability: life course perspectives, which is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (grant number: 51NF40-185901). Moreover, AI acknowledges support from the Swiss National Science Foundation (grant number: 10001C_189407). E.R.G., C.F. and B.R.G. acknowledge support from LARSyS—Portuguese national funding agency for science, research and technology (FCT) pluriannual funding 2020–2023 (Reference: UIDB/50009/2020).