Tag Archives: disability

February 15, 2023 · 11:33 pm

Dramatic improvement in the prevalence of disabilities among older Americans since 2008

If the prevalence of disabilities had remained at 2008 levels, an additional 1.27 million older Americans would have had difficulties bathing or dressing and an additional 1.89 million would have serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs by 2017.

The prevalence of disabilities among American adults aged 65 and older is much lower than it was for the same age group a decade earlier, according to a nationally representative study published online in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) .

Photo by SHVETS production on Pexels.com

The decline in disability among older Americans was substantial. The odds of experiencing limitations in activities of daily living (such as dressing or bathing) and the odds of experiencing functional limitations (such as serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs) declining 18% and 13%, respectively, between 2008 and 2017.

In 2008, 12.1% of older Americans reported limitations in activities of daily living. In 2017, this percentage had declined to 9.6%. To put this into perspective, if the prevalence of limitations in daily living remained at the 2008 levels, an additional 1.27 million older Americans would have ADL limitations in 2017.

Pages: 1 2

1 Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as disability, senior exercise, seniors, women's fitness

May 31, 2021 · 11:13 pm

Concussion with Loss of Consciousness May Be Linked to Life with Some Disability

People who have had a concussion where they lost consciousness may be more likely to have some disability or limitations later in life—such as difficulty walking or limitations in the amount or type of work they can do—than people who have never had a concussion, according to a study published in the May 26, 2021, online issue of Neurology^®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

“About 16% of all adults have experienced a concussion with loss of consciousness, and our study found that nearly half of those people are living with disability,” said study author Andrea L.C. Schneider, MD, PhD, of the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. “This substantial burden of disability suggests that research into how to better care for and improve the functioning of people with concussions over the long term should be a priority for both public health and for planning for individuals.”

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

The study involved 7,390 people with an average age of 58. People were asked if they had ever had a concussion with loss of consciousness. They were also asked questions about their ability to do daily activities such as eating and dressing, preparing meals and doing household chores, walking up steps and carrying heavy objects. Their grip strength was also tested to check for any disability in their arms. Disability was defined as having “some difficulty” or greater difficulty in an area.

Pages: 1 2

Walking program linked to reduced disability

Falls are a top cause of disability for older adults. But a study published Sept. 26, 2016, in Annals of Internal Medicine, suggests that adopting a regular routine of moderate physical activity, such as walking, helps older adults remain mobile longer and may also help them to recover faster from physical disabilities, according to Harvard Health Publications.

quote-the-sovereign-invigorator-of-the-body-jefferson

Researchers analyzed information from a previous randomized controlled trial that divided 1,600 sedentary adults ages 70 to 89 into two groups. One group received ongoing health education classes that included upper-body stretching exercises. The other group took part in a structured exercise program several days a week that included walking and some strength, flexibility, and balance training.

Researchers assessed both groups over a period of three-and-a-half years. The new study concludes that people in the exercise group reduced the amount of time spent suffering from major disability by 25%, compared with people in the health education group. People in the exercise group also appeared less likely to experience disability in the first place, and more likely to recover if they did.

While falls cause serious injuries to older adults, the exercise walking benefits all ages, please check out my Page – Why you should walk more to see how good it is for you.

Tony

3 Comments

Filed under outdoor exercise, successful aging, walking

Tagged as aging, disability, Exercise, Harvard Health Publications, seniors, walking

May 4, 2014 · 7:55 pm

Light Activity Every Day Keeps Disability At Bay

Those who spent more than four hours per day doing light physical activity had more than a 30 percent reduction in the risk for developing disability compared to those spending only three hours a day in light activity (the least average number of hours collected in the study).

Cooking with Kathy Man

Pushing a shopping cart or a vacuum doesn’t take a lot of effort, but enough of this sort of light physical activity every day can help people with or at risk of knee arthritis avoid developing disabilities as they age, according to a new Northwestern Medicine® study.

It is known that the more time people spend in moderate or vigorous activities, the less likely they are to develop disability, but this is the first study to show that spending more time in light activities can help prevent disability, too.

“Our findings provide encouragement for adults who may not be candidates to increase physical activity intensity due to health limitations,” said Dorothy Dunlop, professor of medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and lead author of the study. “Even among those who did almost no moderate activity, the more light activity they did, the less likely they were to develop…

View original post 359 more words