Asian Nurs Res.  2015 Mar;9(1):7-13. 10.1016/j.anr.2014.09.005.

Factors Affecting Mobility in Community-dwelling Older Koreans with Chronic Illnesses

• Yeom HA
• Baldwin CM
• Lee MA
• Kim SJ

• KMID: 2133381
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.anr.2014.09.005

Abstract

PURPOSE
This descriptive study aims to describe the levels of mobility in community-dwelling older Koreans with chronic illnesses, and to examine the associations of their mobility with sleep patterns, physical activity and physical symptoms including fatigue and pain.
METHODS
The participants were a total of 384 community-dwelling older adults recruited from three senior centers in Seoul, Korea. Measures included mobility assessed using 6-minute walk test (6MWT), physical activity behavior, sleep profiles, fatigue and pain. Data were collected from July to December 2012.
RESULTS
The mean 6MWT distance was 212.68 meters. Over 90% of the study participants (n = 373) were classified as having impaired mobility using 400 meters as the cutoff point diagnostic criteria of normal mobility in 6MWT. The 6MWT distance was 246.68 meters for participants in their 60s, 212.32 meters for those in their 70s, and 175.54 meters for those in their 80s. Significant predictors of mobility included younger age, taking mediation, regular physical activity, female gender, higher income, higher fatigue and better perception on sleep duration, which explained 18% of the total variance of mobility.
CONCLUSION
A high-risk group for mobility limitation includes low income, sedentary older men who are at risk for increased fatigue and sleep deficit. Further research should incorporate other psychological and lifestyle factors such as depression, smoking, drinking behavior, and/or obesity into the prediction model of mobility to generate specific intervention strategies for mobility enhancement recommendations for older adults.

Keyword

aged; chronic disease; Koreans; mobility limitation; walking

MeSH Terms

Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Chronic Disease/*epidemiology
Cross-Sectional Studies
Fatigue/epidemiology
Female
Humans
Independent Living/*statistics & numerical data
Male
*Mobility Limitation
Motor Activity
Pain/epidemiology
Risk Factors
Seoul/epidemiology
Sleep
Surveys and Questionnaires