The impact of physical and mind exercise on functional disability in activities of daily living among the oldest old.

OBJECTIVE

In an aging society, it is essential for older adults to maintain their ability for independent daily living. This study investigates the effects of physical and mind exercise on functional impairment in activities of daily living among older adults aged 80 years and older.

METHODS

Data were sourced from the CLHLS database for the years 1998, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2008, and 2018, with a final sample of 62,581 respondents included in the analysis. Binary logistic regression models were employed for data analysis.

RESULTS

Our analysis suggests that the oldest-old adults engaging in physical exercise have an approximately 44.9% lower probability of ADL disability than those not exercising (95%CI: 0.509, 0.596), whereas those engaging in mind exercise have an approximately 40.4% lower probability (95%CI: 0.537, 0.661). when the oldest-old engage in both physical and mind exercise, their risk of ADL disability is reduced by 53.6% (95%CI: 0.399, 0.538).

CONCLUSION

In addition to encouraging the oldest-old to engage in appropriate physical exercise, promoting simultaneous engagement in mind exercises is important. This approach is more beneficial for sustaining older adults' health and contributes to healthy aging.