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- Issue 106
- Physical activity fragmentation and functional decline…
Physical activity fragmentation and functional decline among older adults: findings from the National Health and Aging Trends Study
Key Points
- Older adults whose activity patterns were more fragmented, meaning they frequently switched from being active to sedentary, were more likely to experience declines in physical function.
BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE
Research grade wearables have provided us with a greater understanding of physical activity and its impact on health (1). One of the recent variables that has received a lot of attention due to its association with poor physical function and health is the active-to-sedentary transition probability (ATSP) (1). The ATSP is defined as the likelihood of transitioning from being physically active to being sedentary (1). It is calculated as the number of bouts of physical activity divided by the total number of active minutes. In other words, ATSP is the inverse of the average physical activity (PA) bout duration (1). A higher ATSP indicates a more fragmented pattern of PA, a proposed phenotype of accelerated aging whereby bouts of continuous PA are shortened and interrupted by more frequent periods of inactivity (1). However, this data has not been evaluated longitudinally.
The objective of this study was to evaluate whether physical activity fragmentation is associated cross-sectionally and longitudinally with physical function among older adults, independent of total activity volume and other potential confounders.
Clinicians should evaluate multiple dimensions of physical activity, including total volume, intensity, and fragmentation, rather than focusing solely on daily activity totals.
METHODS
Design: Secondary data analyses utilizing the National Health and Aging Trends Study.