TY  - JOUR
AU  - Kirchengast, Sylvia
PY  - 2019
DA  - 2019/10/08
TI  - Aging in A Changing World – the Impact of Social Contact and Physical Activity on Health-Related Quality among Older People from Austria – A Biological Perspective
JO  - OBM Geriatrics
SP  - 077
VL  - 03
IS  - 04
AB  - Background: All over the world we are confronted with an absolute and relative increase in the proportion of older people. In order to develop strategies to keep older people healthy and independent as long as possible, analyses of factors influencing health related quality of life (HRQL) during old age are necessary. The aim of this review is to present the results of three projects carried out in Austria by the author focusing on the impact of social contact and physical activity on HRQL.
Methods: The standardized WHOQOL BREF and the Geriatric Depression Scale was used to estimate HRQL and prevalence of geriatric depression in older Austrians. For the assessment of social network characteristics, a 50 item questionnaire was used. Physical fitness was estimated by hand grip strength and sarcopenia and bone loss were determined by DEXA measurements.
Results: Higher face to face contact frequency and higher number of offspring increased HRQL and reduced geriatric depression. Sarcopenia and reduced bone density which might increase the risk of frailty syndrome were significantly interrelated.
Conclusions: The ongoing change of life circumstances increase psychosocial problems such as loneliness and depression among older people who no longer live embedded in their families. Childlessness and reduced contact frequency are related to health related quality of life during old age. This is also true of reduced physical activity in daily life, which increases the risk of sarcopenia and osteoporosis and may be invalid during old age.
SN  - 2638-1311
UR  - https://doi.org/10.21926/obm.geriatr.1904077
DO  - 10.21926/obm.geriatr.1904077
ID  - Kirchengast2019
ER  -