Disability

Walking Speed, Cognitive Function, and Dementia Risk in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

Reduced muscle strength is an accurate predictor of functional limitations, disability, and mortality. Hence, understanding which socio‐economic factors contribute to preserve muscle strength in old age is central to the design of social policies that help reducing these health risks.

Wealth-associated disparities in death and disability in the United States and England

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The concept of dynapenic obesity has been gaining great attention recently. However, there is little epidemiological evidence demonstrating that dynapenic abdominal obese individuals have worse trajectories of disability than those with dynapenia and abdominal obesity alone. Our aim was to investigate whether dynapenia combined with abdominal obesity can result in worse trajectories of instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) among English and Brazilian older adults over eight and ten years of follow-up, respectively.

Does public transport use prevent declines in walking speed among older adults living in England? A prospective cohort study

Pedestrian crossings in the UK and US require people to walk at 1.2 m/s to cross the road in time; however a large proportion of older people do not walk this fast, potentially discouraging walking or putting older people at risk of injury. We use longitudinal data to investigate changes in walking speed, and ability to cross the road in time, at older ages. 31,015 walking speed measurements were taken from 10,249 men and women aged 60+ years in waves 1-7 of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (2002-2014). Growth curve analyses were used to model how walking speed changes with increasing age, and predicted probabilities of being able to cross the road in time were estimated. 10% of measured walking speeds were fast enough to cross the road in time. Walking speed declined with age (-5.7×10-3m/s/yr (95% CI -7.6×10-3, -3.9×10-3)), and the decline accelerated with increasing age (-0.3 ×10-3m/s/yr (-0.4 ×10-3, -0.3 ×10-3)). Female, less wealthy and less healthy older people had slower walking speeds. For instance, predicted probability of crossing the road in time at age 60 was 14.8% (10.1, 18.5) and 2.7% (1.5, 3.8) for the richest and poorest men and 8.4% (6.0, 1.1) and 1.5% (0.9, 2.2) for the richest and poorest women, and at age 80 they were 7.1% (3.6, 10.5) and 1.0% (0.3, 1.7) for the richest and poorest men and 3.7% (1.6, 5.9) and 0.5% (0.1, 0.9) for the richest and poorest women. Most older people do not walk fast enough to cross the road in time. Even the majority of the wealthiest and healthiest people aged 60 years and older do not walk fast enough to cross pedestrian crossings in the allocated time. Crossing times should be increased to allow for older peoples' slower walking speeds or other policies considered to improve walkability, and to help avoid injuries and social isolation.

Background: Reliable estimation of future trends in life expectancy and the burden of disability is crucial for ageing societies. Previous forecasts have not considered the potential impact of trends in disease incidence. The present prediction model combines population trends in cardiovascular disease, dementia, disability, and mortality to forecast trends in life expectancy and the burden of disability in England and Wales up to 2025.

Forecasting trends in disability and life expectancies in England and Wales to 2025: a modelling study

Background: A possible role of vitamin D in depression has received considerable attention, especially given the significant disability, mortality, and healthcare costs associated to depression and the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency.

In elderly populations, frailty is associated with higher mortality risk. Although many frailty scores (FS) have been proposed, no single score is considered the gold standard. We aimed to evaluate the agreement between a wide range of FS in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). Through a literature search, we identified 35 FS that could be calculated in ELSA wave 2 (2004-2005). We examined agreement between each frailty score and the mean of 35 FS, using a modified Bland-Altman model and Cohen's kappa (κ). Missing data were imputed. Data from 5,377 participants (ages ≥60 years) were analyzed (44.7% men, 55.3% women). FS showed widely differing degrees of agreement with the mean of all scores and between each pair of scores. Frailty classification also showed a very wide range of agreement (Cohen's κ = 0.10-0.83). Agreement was highest among "accumulation of deficits"-type FS, while accuracy was highest for multidimensional FS. There is marked heterogeneity in the degree to which various FS estimate frailty and in the identification of particular individuals as frail. Different FS are based on different concepts of frailty, and most pairs cannot be assumed to be interchangeable. Research results based on different FS cannot be compared or pooled.

The role of sports clubs in helping older people stay active and prevent frailty: a longitudinal mediation analysis

Objective Moderate to severe chronic pain affects one in five adults. Pain may increase the risk of mortality but the relationship is unclear. This study investigated whether mortality risk was influenced by pain phenotype, characterised by pain extent or pain impact on daily life. Methods The study population was drawn from two large population cohorts of adults aged ≥50 years; the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) (n=6324) and the North Staffordshire Osteoarthritis Project (NorStOP) (n=10985). Survival analyses (Cox's proportional hazard models) estimated the risk of mortality in participants reporting "any pain" and then separately according to the extent of pain (total number of pain sites; widespread pain according to American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria; widespread pain according to Manchester criteria) and pain impact on daily life (pain interference; and often troubled with pain). Models were cumulatively adjusted for age, sex, education and wealth/adequacy of income. Results After adjustments, the report of any pain (MRR 1.06, 95% CI (0.95, 1.19)) or having widespread pain (ACR 1.07 (0.92, 1.23) or Manchester 1.16 (0.99, 1.36)) was not associated with an increased risk of mortality. Participants who were often troubled with pain (1.29 (1.12, 1.49)) and those that reported "quite a bit" (1.38 (1.20,1.59)) and "extreme" (1.88 (1.54, 2.29)) pain interference had an increased risk of all-cause mortality. Conclusion Pain that interferes with daily life, rather than pain per se was associated with an increased risk of mortality. Future studies should investigate the mechanisms through which pain increases mortality risk. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Trajectory of physical activity following total hip and knee arthroplasty: data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) cohort

Changes in social isolation and loneliness following total hip and knee arthroplasty: Longitudinal analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) cohort

OBJECTIVES: Visual impairment is the leading cause of age-related disability, but the social patterning of loss of vision in older people has received little attention. This study's objective was to assess the association between social position and onset of visual impairment, to empirically evidence health inequalities in later life. METHOD: Visual impairment was measured in 2 ways: self-reporting fair vision or worse (moderate) and self-reporting poor vision or blindness (severe). Correspondingly, 2 samples were drawn from the English Longitudinal Study on Ageing (ELSA). First, 7,483 respondents who had good vision or better at Wave 1; second, 8,487 respondents who had fair vision or better at Wave 1. Survival techniques were used. RESULTS: Cox proportional hazards models showed wealth and subjective social status (SSS) were significant risk factors associated with the onset of visual impairment. The risk of onset of moderate visual impairment was significantly higher for the lowest and second lowest wealth quintiles, whereas the risk of onset of severe visual impairment was significantly higher for the lowest, second, and even middle wealth quintiles, compared with the highest wealth quintile. Independently, lower SSS was associated with increased risk of onset of visual impairment (both measures), particularly so for those placing themselves on the lowest rungs of the social ladder. DISCUSSION: The high costs of visual impairment are disproportionately felt by the worst off elderly. Both low wealth and low SSS significantly increase the risk of onset of visual impairment.

Physical activity trajectories of frailty among older adults: evidence from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing