Trial reportBMC public health2008
Less healthy, but more active: opposing selection biases when recruiting older people to a physical activity study through primary care.
Trial report in BMC public health, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed.
- BRIDGe recruitment strategies for frail older adults in intervention trials: lessons learned from the ACTIVE-AGE@home trial.BMC medical research methodology · 2025Trial
- Prevention at home in older persons with (pre-)frailty: analysis of participants' recruitment and characteristics of the randomized controlled PromeTheus trial.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2024Trial
- Effects of remote coaching following supervised exercise oncology rehabilitation on physical activity levels, physical fitness, and patient-reported outcomes: a randomised controlled trial.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2024Trial
- Trial
- Enhanced motivational interviewing for reducing weight and increasing physical activity in adults with high cardiovascular risk: the MOVE IT three-arm RCT.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2019Trial
- Recruitment and baseline characteristics of participants in the Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability (FINGER)-a randomized controlled lifestyle trial.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2014Trial
- Which older people decline participation in a primary care trial of physical activity and why: insights from a mixed methods approach.BMC geriatrics · 2014Trial
- Age-related changes in proprioception are of limited size, outcome-dependent and task-dependent.GeroScience · 2026Article
- Association of Senior Dance Participation with Mental Well-Being and Functional Performance in Older Women: A Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Is physical fitness associated with brain structure and function in Parkinson's disease?Brain imaging and behavior · 2026Article
- Article
- Associations between physical activity, socioeconomic and sociodemographic factors, and risk of sarcopenia in older adults in Northeast Brazil.BMC public health · 2025Article
- A cluster analysis of device-measured physical activity behaviours and the association with chronic conditions, multi-morbidity and healthcare utilisation in adults aged 45 years and older.Preventive medicine reports · 2021Article
- Response bias to a randomised controlled trial of a lifestyle intervention in people at high risk of cardiovascular disease: a cross-sectional analysis.BMC public health · 2018Article
- Impact of different recruitment strategies on accelerometry adherence and resulting physical activity data: A secondary analysis.Preventive medicine reports · 2018Article
- Article
- Exploring equity in uptake of the NHS Health Check and a nested physical activity intervention trial.Journal of public health (Oxford, England) · 2016Article
- Reasons for non-participation in a primary care-based physical activity trial: a qualitative study.BMJ open · 2016Article
- Exploring non-participation in primary care physical activity interventions: PACE-UP trial interview findings.Trials · 2016Article
- Engagement and Nonusage Attrition With a Free Physical Activity Promotion Program: The Case of 10,000 Steps Australia.Journal of medical Internet research · 2015Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPhysical activity studies in older people experience poor recruitment. We wished to assess the influence of activity levels and health status on recruitment to a physical activity study in older people.
methodsComparison of participants and non-participants to a physical activity study using accelerometers in patients aged > or = 65 years registered with a UK primary care centre. Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (OR) of participants in the accelerometer study with various adjustments. Analyses were initially adjusted for age, sex and household clustering; the health variables were then adjusted for physical activity levels and vice versa to look for independent effects.
results43%(240/560) participated in the physical activity study. Age had no effect but males were more likely to participate than females OR 1.4(1.1-1.8). 46% (76/164) of non-participants sent the questionnaire returned it. The 240 participants reported greater physical activity than the 76 non-participants on all measures, eg faster walking OR 3.2(1.4-7.7), or 10.4(3.2-33.3) after adjustment for health variables. Participants reported more health problems; this effect became statistically significant after controlling for physical activity, eg disability OR 2.4(1.1-5.1).
conclusionPhysical activity studies on older primary care patients may experience both a strong bias towards participants being more active and a weaker bias towards participants having more health problems and therefore primary care contact. The latter bias could be advantageous for physical activity intervention studies, where those with health problems need targeting.
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