WEDNESDAY, Sept. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Remaining physically active well into old age substantially improves survival as well as the odds of preserving independence and daily functioning as the years pile up, according to a study in the Sept. 14 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Jochanan Stessman, M.D., of the Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School in Jerusalem, analyzed morbidity and mortality data for 1,861 people ages 70 to 88 years from the Jerusalem Longitudinal Cohort Study (1990 to 2008). The researchers examined the effect of self-reported physical activity, such as walking, jogging and swimming, or lack of activity (having a sedentary lifestyle) on function, survival, and health status at ages 70, 78, and 85 years.
The researchers found that physically active subjects had lower mortality rates than sedentary subjects at all age milestones: at 70 years, eight-year mortality was 15.2 versus 27.2 percent; at 78 years, eight-year mortality was 26.1 versus 40.8 percent; and at 85 years, three-year mortality was 6.8 versus 24.4 percent. Physical activity at age 78 was strongly associated with remaining independent and carrying out functions of daily living at age 85 (odds ratio, 1.92).
"Among the very old, not only continuing but also initiating physical activity was associated with better survival and function. This finding supports the encouragement of physical activity into advanced old age," the authors conclude.
Abstract
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