Exploring Mediation Effects of Gait Speed, Body Balance, and Falls in the Relationship between Physical Activity and Health-Related Quality of Life in Vulnerable Older Adults

Marcelo de Maio Nascimento; Élvio Rúbio Gouveia; Bruna R Gouveia; Adilson Marques; Cíntia França; Duarte L Freitas; Pedro Campos; Andreas Ihle

doi:10.3390/ijerph192114135

Exploring Mediation Effects of Gait Speed, Body Balance, and Falls in the Relationship between Physical Activity and Health-Related Quality of Life in Vulnerable Older Adults

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Oct 29;19(21):14135. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192114135.

Authors

Marcelo de Maio Nascimento¹, Élvio Rúbio Gouveia^{2

3

4}, Bruna R Gouveia^{3

4

5

6}, Adilson Marques^{7

8}, Cíntia França^{2

3}, Duarte L Freitas^{2

9}, Pedro Campos^{3

10}, Andreas Ihle^{4

11

12}

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 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 Regional Directorate of Health, Secretary of Health of the Autonomous Region of Madeira, 9004-515 Funchal, Portugal.
⁶ Saint Joseph of Cluny Higher School of Nursing, 9050-535 Funchal, Portugal.
⁷ CIPER, Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of Lisbon, 1495-751 Lisbon, Portugal.
⁸ ISAMB, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, 1649-020 Lisbon, Portugal.
⁹ Centre of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport (CIFI2D), Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal.
¹⁰ Department of Informatics Engineering and Interactive Media Design, University of Madeira, 9020-105 Funchal, Portugal.
¹¹ Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland.
¹² Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research LIVES-Overcoming Vulnerability: Life Course Perspectives, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.

Abstract

The present study aimed to examine whether gait speed (GS), body balance (BB), and falls mediated the relationship between physical activity (PA) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in community-dwelling older adults. This is a cross-sectional study that included 305 men and 314 women (69.5 ± 5.6 years), residing in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, Portugal. HRQoL and PA were assessed using the SF-36 and Baecke Questionnaires, respectively. While BB was obtained by the Fullerton Advance Balance (FAB) scale, GS by the 50-foot (15 m) walk test, and the frequency of falls was obtained by self-report. According to the analyses, when GS and BB were placed concomitantly as mediators, the direct effect revealed by the model revealed a non-significant relationship between PA and falls. Thus, in the context of falls, GS and BB partially mediated the association between PA and HRQoL in approximately 29.7%, 56%, and 49.2%, respectively. The total HRQoL model explained a variance of 36.4%. The results can help to understand the role that GS, BB, and falls play in the relationship between PA and HRQoL of the vulnerable older adult population.

Keywords: aging; body balance; falls; gait speed; physical activity; quality of life; vulnerability.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

Aged
Cross-Sectional Studies
Exercise
Female
Gait
Humans
Male
Postural Balance*
Quality of Life*
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., P.C. 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).