ArticleBulletin of the World Health Organization2013
A life-course perspective on physical functioning in women.
Article in Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
42 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Factors associated with handgrip strength across the life course: A systematic review.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2024Pooled it
- Do weather changes influence physical activity level among older adults? - The Generation 100 study.PloS one · 2018Trial
- Trial
- Reciprocal Associations Between Trajectories of Physical Activity and Physical Function Among Older Women: Findings From the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2025Article
- Knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about balance among adults in the United States.SAGE open medicine · 2025Article
- Variations in Cycling Distances by Trip Purpose and Socio-Demographic Attributes: Implications for Spatial Scales to Assess Environmental Correlates of Cycling.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Trajectories of physical activity from mid to older age in women: 21 years of data from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2024Article
- Questionnaire-based scoring system for screening moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in middle-aged Japanese workers.Journal of occupational health · 2024Article
- Prevalence of falls among adult mothers in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study.BMC women's health · 2023Article
- Duration and intensity of occupational lifting and risk of long-term sickness absence: Prospective cohort study with register follow-up among 45 000 workers.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2023Article
- Designing physical activity interventions for women aged 50+: a qualitative study of participant perspectives.BMC public health · 2022Article
- Can a Healthy Lifestyle Prevent Disability Pension among Female Healthcare Workers with Good and Poor Self-Rated Health? Prospective Cohort Study with 11-Year Register Follow-Up.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Physical Performance, Cardiovascular Health and Psychosocial Wellbeing in Older Adults Compared to Oldest-Old Residential Seniors.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Musculoskeletal pain intensity in different body regions and risk of disability pension among female eldercare workers: prospective cohort study with 11-year register follow-up.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2021Article
- Prevalence and factors associated with recurrent falls among middle-aged community-dwelling women.Journal of frailty, sarcopenia and falls · 2021Article
- Treat-to-target in axial spondyloarthritis - what about physical function and activity?Nature reviews. Rheumatology · 2021Review
- Preparing for population ageing in the Western Pacific Region.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2021Article
- Comparisons of leisure-time physical activity participation by adults with and without a disability: results of an Australian cross-sectional national survey.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2021Article
- Article
- Mini-Trampoline Jumping as an Exercise Intervention in Postmenopausal Women to Improve Women Specific Health Risk Factors.International journal of preventive medicine · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo validate Kalache & Kickbusch's model: namely, that functional capacity peaks in early adulthood, then declines at a rate dependent on fitness level until a "disability threshold" is reached.
methodsData came from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health, which followed three cohorts from 1996 to 2011: a young, a mid-aged and an older cohort (born in 1973-78, 1946-51 and 1921-26, respectively). The Short Form (36) Health Survey was used to measure physical functioning (score 1-100). The disability threshold was the mean physical functioning score in older women requiring assistance with daily activities (62.8). The relationship between age and physical functioning was modelled using spline regression for the entire sample, and by baseline physical functioning quintile and physical activity level.
findingsPHYSICAL DECLINE QUICKENED WITH AGE: 0.05 annual units (95% confidence interval, CI: -0.13 to 0.22) at ages 18-23 years (i.e. no decline); -2.43 (95% CI: -2.64 to -2.23) at ages 82-90 years. Decline was faster in quintiles with lower baseline physical functioning in the younger and mid-age cohorts and in quintiles with higher baseline physical functioning in the older cohort. The disability threshold was reached at a mean age of 79 years, but the range was 45-88 years, depending on baseline physical functioning and physical activity.
conclusionAge and physical decline are not linearly related, as traditionally believed; decline accelerates with age. However, baseline physical functioning, but not physical activity, influences the rate of decline.
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