jarlife journal
Sample text

AND option

OR option

Current issue

Ahead of print articles

Check out a preview articles to be published in the next issue.

 

JARLIFE Vol 14, 2025

 

CONTRIBUTION OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY TO INTRINSIC CAPACITY DIFFERS IN USA, UK, EUROPE AND CHINA

Z Huang, ETC Lai, J Woo

J Aging Res & Lifestyle 2025;14

Show summaryHide summary

BACKGROUND: Within-country studies show that physical activity is associated with better intrinsic capacity. OBJECTIVES: To examine whether the contribution of physical activity to intrinsic capacity varies between countries due to varying social determinants, and whether physical activity associates differently with only certain domains of intrinsic capacity. DESIGN: Prospective cohort studies. SETTING: Populations of the USA, UK, Europe, and China. PARTICIPANTS: Nationally representative samples of middle-aged and older adults who were interviewed every two or three years. MEASUREMENTS: Intrinsic capacity was assessed according to the following domains: locomotor, vitality, cognition, vision and hearing, and psychological health. Physical activity was defined as taking part in vigorous or moderate physical activity was more than weekly. RESULTS: Physical activity was associated with better intrinsic capacity in both genders in USA, UK, and Europe, but not in China. In these developed countries, physical activity was associated with all domains of intrinsic capacity, except for cognition in men in the UK. The largest effect sizes were observed in the domains of locomotion, psychological health, and vitality. In China, physical activity was significantly and positively associated with two domains of intrinsic capacity (vitality and locomotion) for men and women only in rural areas. CONCLUSIONS: Physical activity may contribute differently to intrinsic capacity, perhaps as a result of cultural and economic differences between countries.

CITATION:
Z Huang ; ETC Lai ; J Woo (2025): Contribution of physical activity to intrinsic capacity differs in USA, UK, Europe and China. The Journal of Aging and Lifestyle (JARLife). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarlif.2025.100007

OPEN ACCESS

Download PDF (1.36 Mo)

Read more...

INCREMENTAL PREDICTIVE VALUE OF INTRINSIC CAPACITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS IN THE RISK PREDICTION OF INCIDENT DISABILITY

Ruby Yu, Grace Leung, Derek Lai, Lok-yan Tam, Clara Cheng, Sara Kong, Cecilia Tong, Jean Woo

J Aging Res & Lifestyle 2025;14

Show summaryHide summary

OBJECTIVE: To examine the incremental value of intrinsic capacity (IC) and environmental characteristics in the risk prediction of disability. METHODS: Secondary analysis was performed on a longitudinal sample of individuals aged 50 years or above. The selected subsample was ambulant and cognitively intact, and did not have any disabilities in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) at baseline. A set of 18 indicators were first used to assess conditions associated with declines in IC and environmental characteristics. Participants were then followed up for approximately one year, and the IADL status (i.e., disabled or not) was treated as the outcome variable in the logistic regression models. The incremental predictive value of IC was examined by comparing the baseline model that only included traditional risk factors (e.g., health conditions and lifestyle factors), against the full model that also included the aforementioned 18 indicators. The comparison was performed using the change in area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROCAUC) and the continuous net reclassification index (NRI). RESULTS: Among 10,993 participants (mean age = 73.3, 82.1 % women), 680 (6.2 %) developed disability during the concerned period. The full model significantly outperformed the baseline model, with the ROCAUC improving from 0.707 to 0.729 (change = 0.021; 95 % CI: 0.013–0.030). The continuous NRI was 0.361 (95 % bootstrap CI: 0.280–0.450). CONCLUSIONS: Measurements of IC and environmental characteristics have a significant incremental value in predicting disability. In practice, the full model can be implemented as a calculator for identifying older populations at risk of disability in the community settings.

CITATION:
Ruby Yu ; Grace Leung ; Derek Lai ; Lok-yan Tam ; Clara Cheng ; Sara Kong ; Cecilia Tong ; Jean Woo (2025): Incremental predictive value of intrinsic capacity and environmental characteristics in the risk prediction of incident disability. The Journal of Aging and Lifestyle (JARLife). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarlif.2025.100004

OPEN ACCESS

Download PDF (640.15 Ko)

Read more...