Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Mobility, functional ability and health-related quality of life among people of 60 years or older

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Aging Clinical and Experimental Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background and aims: Knowledge about Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) in advanced age is sparse. This study investigated to what extent mobility factors explained older people’s HRQoL when age, gender and functional ability (ADL) were controlled for. Methods: Subjects were 1128 people aged 60–96 participating in a Swedish longitudinal multi-center cohort study. Besides descriptive and correlation statistics, a three-tier multiple logistic regression analysis was performed, which included the ADL scale, mobility tests and items, with physical and mental HRQoL as outcome variables. Results: In the models containing the control variables, functional ability was found to be associated with both physical and mental HRQoL. In the models including both functional ability and mobility factors, the importance of functional ability remained for mental but not for physical HRQoL. The mobility factors were found to have a stronger negative influence on HRQoL, i.e., physical and mental, than functional ability in itself. Conclusions: For optimal identification of various types of disabilities and their impact on older people’s HRQoL, the ADL scale should be used together with more targetspecific tests of disabilities. However, in certain situations, it appears that one mobility factor alone — the ability to walk — has the capacity to pick up changes in both physical and mental HRQoL. Thus, it is important that healthcare professionals should focus activities toward maintaining older people’s mobility as a means of enhancing their HRQoL.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Hardy SE, Dubin JA, Holford TR, Gill TM. Transitions between states of disability and independence among older persons. Am J Epidemiol 2005; 161: 575–84.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Lan TY, Melzer D, Tom BD, Guralnik JM. Performance tests and disability: developing an objective index of mobility-related limitation in older populations. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2002; 57: 294–301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Fagerström C. Life satisfaction and feeling hindered by health problems at age 60 and above. Lund: Lund University, 2007.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Fagerstrom C, Persson H, Holst G, Hallberg IR. Determinants of feeling hindered by health problems in daily living at 60 years and above. Scand J Caring Sci 2008; 22: 410–21.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. WHO. International classification of functioning, disability and health: ICF. Geneva: World Health Organisation, 2001.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Avlund K. Methodological challenges in measurements of functional ability in gerontological research. A review. Aging Clin Exp Res 1997; 9: 164–74.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Rantanen T, Avlund K, Suominen H, Schroll M, Frandin K, Pertti E. Muscle strength as a predictor of onset of ADL dependence in people aged 75 years. Aging Clin Exp Res 2002; 14 (Suppl): 10–5.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Parker MG, Thorslund M. Health trends in the elderly population: getting better and getting worse. Gerontologist 2007; 47: 150–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Gabriel Z, Bowling A. Quality of life from the perspective of older people. Ageing Soc 2004; 24: 675–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Stenzelius K, Mattiasson A, Hallberg IR, Westergren A. Symptoms of urinary and faecal incontinence among men and women 75+ in relation to health complaints and quality of life. Neurourol Urodyn 2004; 23: 211–22.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Tibblin G, Bengtsson C, Furunes B, Lapidus L. Symptoms by age and sex. The population studies of men and women in Gothenburg, Sweden. Scand J Prim Health Care 1990; 8: 9–17.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Bourret EM, Bernick LG, Cott CA, Kontos PC. The meaning of mobility for residents and staff in long-term care facilities. J Adv Nurs 2002; 37: 338–45.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Katz S, Ford AB, Moskowitz RW, Jackson BA, Jaffe MW. Studies of illness in the aged. The index of ADL: a standardized measure of biological and psychosocial function. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 1963; 185: 914–9.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Lagergren M, Fratiglioni L, Hallberg IR et al. A longitudinal study integrating population, care and social services data. The Swedish National study on Aging and Care (SNAC). Aging Clin Exp Res 2004; 16: 158–68.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Fillenbaum GG. Multidimensional functional assessment of older adults. The Duke Older Americans’ Resources and Services Procedures: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, 1988.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Avlund K, Kreiner S, Schultz-Larsen K. Functional ability scales for the elderly. Eur J Public Health 1996; 6: 35–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Lawton MP, Brody EM. Assessment of older people: self-maintaining and instrumental activities of daily living. Gerontologist 1969; 9: 179–86.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Cronbach LJ. Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika 1951; 16: 297–334.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Guralnik JM, LaCroix AZ, Abbott RD, et al. Maintaining mobility in late life. I. Demographic characteristics and chronic conditions. Am J Epidemiol 1993; 137: 845–57.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Alexander NB, Guire KE, Thelen DG, et al. Self-reported walking ability predicts functional mobility performance in frail older adults. J Am Geriatr Soc 2000; 48: 1408–3.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Achat H, Kawachi I, Levine S, Berkey C, Coakley E, Colditz G. Social networks, stress and health-related quality of life. Qual Life Res 1998; 7: 735–50.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Ware J Jr, Kosinski M, Keller SD. A 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey: construction of scales and preliminary tests of reliability and validity. Med Care 1996; 34: 220–33.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Sullivan M, Karlsson J, Taft C. SF-12 Health questionnaire. Swedish Manual [In Swedish]. Göteborg: Sektionen för vårdforskning, Universitet MFG, 1997.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Hayes V, Morris J, Wolfe C, Morgan M. The SF-36 health survey questionnaire: is it suitable for use with older adults? Age Ageing 1995; 24: 120–5.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Resnick B, Nahm ES. Reliability and validity testing of the revised 12-item Short-Form Health Survey in older adults. J Nurs Meas 2001; 9: 151–61.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Altman DG. Practical statistics for medical research. London: Chapman and Hall, 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Idler EL, Kasl SV. Self-ratings of health: do they also predict change in functional ability? J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 1995; 50: 344–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Hosmer DW, Lemeshow S. Applied Logistic Regression. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2000.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  29. Polit DF, Hungler BP. Nursing Research Principles and Methods. 6th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1999.

    Google Scholar 

  30. SPSS for Windows. Rel 17.0.0 edn. Chigago: SPSS Inc, 2008.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Borglin G, Jakobsson U, Edberg AK, Hallberg IR. Self-reported health complaints and their prediction of overall and health-related quality of life among elderly people. Int J Nurs Stud 2005; 42: 147–58.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Paskulin L, Vianna L, Molzahn AE. Factors associated with quality of life of Brazilian older adults. Int Nurs Rev 2009; 56: 109–15.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Verbrugge LM, Jette AM. The disablement process. Soc Sci Med 1994; 38: 1–14.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Groessl EJ, Kaplan RM, Rejeski WJ et al. Health-related quality of life in older adults at risk for disability. Am J Prev Med 2007; 33: 214–8.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Leveille SG, Penninx BW, Melzer D, Izmirlian G, Guralnik JM. Sex differences in the prevalence of mobility disability in old age: the dynamics of incidence, recovery, and mortality. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2000; 55: 41–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Health Science, Blekinge Institute of Technology, SE-371 39, Karlskrona, Sweden

    Cecilia Fagerström Dr. & Gunilla Borglin

Authors
  1. Cecilia Fagerström Dr.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Gunilla Borglin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cecilia Fagerström Dr..

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Fagerström, C., Borglin, G. Mobility, functional ability and health-related quality of life among people of 60 years or older. Aging Clin Exp Res 22, 387–394 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03324941

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03324941

Key words

Search

Navigation