The most active people twice as likely to “age successfully”

PainSci » bibliography » Gopinath et al 2018
updated Mar 4, 2020

Tags: exercise, aging, self-treatment, treatment

Eight pages on PainSci cite Gopinath 2018: 1. Quite a Stretch 2. How to Treat Sciatic Nerve Pain 3. Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis 4. Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide 5. Strength Training for Pain & Injury Rehab 6. Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder 7. A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia 8. Get in the Pool for Pain

PainSci commentary on Gopinath 2018: ?This page is one of thousands in the PainScience.com bibliography. It is not a general article: it is focused on a single scientific paper, and it may provide only just enough context for the summary to make sense. Links to other papers and more general information are provided wherever possible.

If you want to age well, move around a lot!

We already know that physical activity reduces the risk of several of the major chronic diseases and increases lifespan. “Successful aging” is a broader concept, harder to measure, which encompasses not only a reduced risk of disease but also the absence of “depressive symptoms, disability, cognitive impairment, respiratory symptoms and systemic conditions.” (No doubt disability from pain is part of that equation.)

In this study of 1584 older Australians, 249 “aged successfully” over ten years. The most active Aussies, “well above the current recommended level,” were twice as likely to be in that group. Imagine how much better they’ll do over 20 years …

~ Paul Ingraham

original abstract †Abstracts here may not perfectly match originals, for a variety of technical and practical reasons. Some abstacts are truncated for my purposes here, if they are particularly long-winded and unhelpful. I occasionally add clarifying notes. And I make some minor corrections.

We aimed to examine the temporal association between physical activity and successful aging. The analyses involved 1,584 adults aged 49+years living west of Sydney (Australia), who did not have cancer, coronary artery disease and stroke at baseline and who were followed over 10 years. Participants provided information on the performance of moderate or vigorous activities and walking exercise and this was used to determine total metabolic equivalents (METs) minutes of activity per week. Successful aging status was determined through interviewer-administered questionnaire and was classified as the absence of: depressive symptoms, disability, cognitive impairment, respiratory symptoms and systemic conditions (e.g. cancer, coronary artery disease). 249 (15.7%) participants (mean age 59.9±6.1) had aged successfully 10 years later. After multivariable adjustment; older adults in the highest level of total physical activity (≥5000MET minutes/week; n=71) compared to those in the lowest level of total physical activity (<1000MET minutes/week; n=934) had 2-fold greater odds of aging successfully than normal aging, odds ratio, OR, 2.08 (95% confidence intervals, CI, 1.12-3.88). Older adults who engaged in high levels of total physical activity, well above the current recommended minimum level had a greater likelihood of aging successfully 10 years later.

original abstract †Abstracts here may not perfectly match originals, for a variety of technical and practical reasons. Some abstacts are truncated for my purposes here, if they are particularly long-winded and unhelpful. I occasionally add clarifying notes. And I make some minor corrections.

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