Open Collections

Davis, Jennifer Colleen; Bryan, Stirling; Best, John R.; Li, Linda C.; Hsu, Chun L.; Gomez, Caitlin; Vertes, Kelly A.; Liu-Ambrose, Teresa

BioMed Central

Background: Older adults with mobility impairments are prone to reduced health related quality of life (HRQoL) is highly associated with mobility impairments. The consequences of falls have detrimental impact on mobility. Hence, ascertaining factors explaining variation among individuals’ quality of life is critical for promoting healthy ageing, particularly among older fallers. Hence, the primary objective of our study was to identify key factors that explain variation in HRQoL among community dwelling older adults at risk of falls. Methods: We conducted a longitudinal analysis of a 12-month prospective cohort study at the Vancouver Falls Prevention Clinic (n = 148 to 286 depending on the analysis). We constructed linear mixed models where assessment month (0, 6, 12) was entered as a within-subjects repeated measure, the intercept was specified as a random effect, and predictors and covariates were entered as between-subjects fixed effects. We also included the predictors by sex and predictor by sex by time interaction terms in order to investigate sex differences in the relations between the predictor variable and the outcome variable, the EQ-5D. Results: Our primary analysis demonstrated a significant mobility (assessed using the Short Performance Physical Battery and the Timed Up and Go) by time interaction (p < 0.05) and mobility by time by sex interaction (p < 0.05). The sensitivity analyses demonstrated some heterogeneity of these findings using an imputed and a complete case analysis. Conclusions: Mobility may be an important predictor of changes in HRQoL over time. As such, mobility is a critical factor to target for future intervention strategies aimed at maintaining or improving HRQoL in late life.

Article

eng

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0223642

Physical Therapy, Department of; Other UBC; Non UBC; Medicine, Faculty of

10.1186/s12955-015-0299-0

Faculty

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/