Scientific Meeting 2023 - Lightning Talks Day 2

Tuesday, March 14
11:40am to 12:45pm

Presenter: Shuhan Yuan

Longitudinal associations between physical activity and activities of daily living: Investigating mediating roles of chronic physical conditions and intellectual aging function

Yuan, Shuhan; Elam, Kit, K.; Johnston, Jeanne, D.; Chow, Angela

Purpose: Gradual loss of activities of daily living (ADL; functional skills of taking self-care) begins in middle adulthood, which may lead to unsatisfactory quality of life. Aging-related functional declines can be slowed down by engaging in more physical activity (PA). According to PA-related studies on social cognitive theory, self-regulation (e.g., intellectual functioning) and physical ability (e.g., chronic physical conditions) are both crucial to performing ADL, which may be promoted by PA. However, current research hasn't investigated whether PA confers intellectual benefit, helping to slow down the loss of ADL. This study examined chronic physical conditions and intellectual functioning as mediators of PA and ADL in the middle-aged population.

Methods: Participants were aged 40-60 old at baseline (N=3749) from three waves of Midlife in the United States dataset. Participants reported moderate and vigorous PA frequency, difficulty in conducting basic ADL (e.g., bathing) and instrumental ADL (e.g., housekeeping), number of chronic health conditions, and intellectual functioning (e.g., ""The older I get the harder it is to think clearly.""). Four path analysis models were employed to estimate the association of Wave 1 physical activity (moderate/vigorous) with Wave 3 ADL (basic/instrumental) and the mediating roles of chronic physical conditions and intellectual functioning at Wave 2.

Results: Fit statistics indicated acceptable fit. Moderate and vigorous PA were negatively associated with difficulty in conducting basic ADL (bs=-0.03; ps<.01) and indirectly through intellectual aging function (bs= -0.01, -0.003; ps<.05). Moderate and vigorous PA were only indirectly associated with the difficulty in conducting instrumental ADL through intellectual aging function (bs= -0.01; ps<.05) and chronic physical conditions (bs=-0.01; ps<.05).

Conclusion: Findings highlighted the beneficial influence of moderate and vigorous PA on different types of ADL and physical and intellectual health as essential underlying roles. Public health professionals should design targeted PA interventions to improve basic and instrumental ADL.