Healthy older adults who regularly participated in physical activity of at least moderate intensity for more than one hour per week had higher HRQL measures in both physical and mental domains than those who were less physically active.
The HRQL scores in all eight domains were significantly higher (p 0.05) between the two groups. Subjects were separated into either a higher physically active group (n = 62) or a lower physically active group (n = 50) according to the physical activity scale. Data was collected using a medical history questionnaire, HRQL from the Medical Outcomes Survey short form-36 questionnaire, and physical activity level from the Johnson Space Center physical activity scale. Measures were obtained from 112 male and female volunteers (70 ± 8 years, mean ± SD) recruited from media advertisements and flyers around the Norman, Oklahoma area.
Thus, this study determined if physical activity was related to HRQL in apparently healthy, older subjects. Physical activity is associated with health-related quality of life (HRQL) in clinical populations, but less is known whether this relationship exists in older men and women who are healthy.
