Abstract
INTRODUCTION:: This study explores the association between physical activity (PA), loneliness and the presence of physical chronic impairments among single older adults.
METHODS:: A longitudinal study (N = 575; mean age 76 ± 8 years) was conducted. The association between self-reported weekly minutes of moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA), loneliness and presence of physical impairments was assessed with multilevel analyses at baseline, 3 months and 6 months.
RESULTS:: Improvements in MVPA were associated with decreases in loneliness (B = - 0.09; SE = 0.04; p = 0.020): this association became non-significant when including the presence of physical impairments in the analyses (p = 0.824), which in itself was positively associated with loneliness (B = 0.51; SE = 0.10; p <0.001).
DISCUSSION:: Findings indicate that physical impairments have a larger influence on loneliness than the level of PA. Interventions targeting PA and loneliness should tailor specifically to physical impairments.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 787–796 |
Number of pages | 34 |
Journal | Journal of Aging and Physical Activity |
Volume | 27 |
Issue number | 6 |
Early online date | 12 Mar 2019 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 2019 |