Age differences in the association of physical leisure activities with incident disability among community-dwelling older adults

[Disability and participation in active leisure activities: results from a Chilean population-based survey]

Leisure activities are necessary to improve the quality of life and good health of the population. Some studies in developed countries have described that people with disabilities participate less in leisure activities. The aim of this study was to estimate the association between disability and participation in active leisure activities in the population aged 18 years or older in Chile, during 2015. An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the Chilean II National Survey on Disability (ENDISC II) 2015. The independent variable was disability, and the dependent variable was participation in active leisure activities in the last six months. Poisson regression models were developed and prevalence ratios (PR) and the 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were estimated. In total, 12,236 participants were included. Chileans with moderate and severe disability were less likely to participate in active leisure activities (PR = 0.96; 95%CI: 0.93-0.99 and PR = 0.78; 95%CI: 0.72-0.84, respectively), compared to Chileans without disability. When stratified by age group, this association remained significant only in those older than 45 years. In conclusion, people with disabilities in Chile participate less in active leisure activities compared to people without disabilities, although only if they are older than 45 years. Social recreation programs should prioritize the incorporation of older people with disabilities.

Longitudinal association between frequency of Internet use and incident disability among community-dwelling older people during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND

There is limited evidence of a protective effect of Internet use for incident disability (ID) during the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigated the association between frequency of Internet use (FIU) and ID among community-dwelling older people.

METHODS

We used longitudinal data from the 2019 and 2022 surveys, including 7,913 residents aged ≥65 without disability at baseline. ID was defined as a new public long-term care insurance certification. FIU at baseline was categorized into daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, and non-users. Changes in FIU before and during the COVID-19 pandemic were categorized into continuing frequent (i.e., daily or weekly), continuing moderate (i.e., monthly or yearly), increase in frequency, from non-users to users, decrease in frequency, from users to non-users, and continuing non-users. Covariates included age, gender, education, perceived economic situation, family structure, body mass index, chronic medical conditions, dietary variety, working status, walking time, and cognitive functioning. Multivariable Poisson regression models were used to estimate adjusted cumulative incidence ratio (aCIR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for ID.

RESULTS

During the 3-year follow-up, 132 of 4,453 people aged 65-74, 595 of 3,460 people aged ≥75, 287 of 3,660 men, and 440 of 4,253 women developed ID. For FIU at baseline, among people aged ≥75 or men, there was a dose-response relationship between more frequent Internet use at baseline and a lower risk of ID (P-trend was 0.005 in people aged ≥75, and <0.001 in men). Compared to non-users, daily users had a significantly lower risk of ID [aCIR (95% CI) = 0.69 (0.53-0.90) in people aged ≥75, and 0.49 (0.34-0.70) in men]. For changes in FIU, "continuing frequent" and "from non-users to users" had a lower risk of ID than continuing non-users. After stratified analyses, "continuing frequent" remained a significant association in people aged ≥75 or in men, while "from non-users to users" had a significant association in those with daily walking time <30 minutes.

CONCLUSIONS

Although FIU may act as a marker of disability, or indicate individual adaptability, our findings suggest that Internet use may be a potential preventive measure against ID in community-dwelling older people when social distancing is required.