Trial reportJournal of the American Geriatrics Society2017
Effect of Physical Activity on Self-Reported Disability in Older Adults: Results from the LIFE Study.
Trial report in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
15 citing papers in PubMed.
- Functional Activities to Optimize Patient Outcomes in Home Health: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of the American Medical Directors Association · 2026Trial
- Late-life disability following the action for health in diabetes (Look AHEAD) trial.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2026Trial
- Ratings of Perceived Exertion During Walking: Predicting Major Mobility Disability and Effect of Structured Physical Activity in Mobility-Limited Older Adults.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2021Trial
- A Case for Promoting Movement Medicine: Preventing Disability in the LIFE Randomized Controlled Trial.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2019Trial
- Correlates of gait speed changes during uneven terrain walking in older adults: differential roles of cognitive and sensorimotor function.Experimental brain research · 2025Article
- Is functional training functional? a systematic review of its effects in community-dwelling older adults.European review of aging and physical activity : official journal of the European Group for Research into Elderly and Physical Activity · 2024Review
- Article
- Dietary Protein Intake and Physical Function in Māori and Non-Māori Adults of Advanced Age in New Zealand: LiLACS NZ.Nutrients · 2023Article
- An Optimal Self-Report Physical Activity Measure for Older Adults: Does Physical Function Matter?Journal of aging and physical activity · 2021Article
- Reduced Neural Excitability and Activation Contribute to Clinically Meaningful Weakness in Older Adults.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2021Article
- Physical activity trajectories, mortality, hospitalization, and disability in the Toledo Study of Healthy Aging.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2020Article
- Efficacy of multidomain interventions to improve physical frailty, depression and cognition: data from cluster-randomized controlled trials.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2020Article
- Cognitive Health of Nonagenarians in Southern Italy: A Descriptive Analysis from a Cross-Sectional, Home-Based Pilot Study of Exceptional Longevity (Cilento Initiative on Aging Outcomes Or CIAO).Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2020Article
- Plasma proteomic signature of the risk of developing mobility disability: A 9-year follow-up.Aging cell · 2020Article
- Moderation of the Association Between Chronic Medical Conditions and Functional Limitations Over Time by Physical Activity: Effects of Age.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND/
objectivesTo test the hypothesis that a long-term structured, moderate intensity physical activity (PA) program is more effective than a health education (HE) program in reducing the risk of s elf-reported dependency and disability in basic activities of daily living (BADLs), disability in instrumental ADLs (IADL), and mobility disability.
designThe Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders (LIFE) study was a multicenter, single-blinded randomized trial.
settingUniversity-based research clinic.
participantsThousand six hundred and thirty five sedentary men and women aged 70-89 years, who had functional limitations, defined as a score ≤9 on the Short Physical Performance Battery.
interventionParticipants were randomized to a structured, moderate intensity PA program (n = 818) that included aerobic, resistance, and flexibility exercises or to a HE program (n = 817). MEASUREMENTS: All outcomes were derived by self-report using periodic interviews that asked about the degree of difficulty and receipt of help during the past month. Dependency was defined as "receiving assistance" or "unable" to do ≥1 activities. Disability was defined as having "a lot of difficulty" or "unable" doing ≥1 activities. Severe disability was defined as reporting difficulty or being unable to perform ≥3 activities.
resultsOver an average follow-up of 2.6 years, the cumulative incidence of BADL dependency was 15.2% among PA and 15.1% among HE participants (HR = 1.0, 95% CI = 0.78-0.1.3). Intervention groups had similar rates of incident BADL disability, IADL disability and reported mobility disability. Reporting severe mobility disability (HR = 0.78, 95% CI = 0.64-0.96) and ratings of difficulty on mobility tasks were reduced in the PA group.
conclusionA structured physical activity intervention reduces reported severe mobility disability and difficulty on mobility tasks, but not BADL and IADL disability in older adults with functional limitations.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.