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【論文摘要】Physical Fitness Scores Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Singapore

摘要


Background and Purpose: Physical fitness has been shown to be associated with health-related quality of life, cardiovascular health, and falls among older adults, with falls being one of the commonest causes of injury among older adults in Singapore. However, there is currently no available reference value for physical fitness among older Singaporeans, making it difficult to evaluate and identify older adults who are physically unfit and at risk of health consequences. Thus, as a first step, this study aims to understand the physical fitness levels among community dwelling older adults in Singapore, and compare that to the established normative values from another Asian country. Methods: From 2016 to 2017, the Singapore Physiotherapy Association together with ActiveSG (Singapore's national sporting body) organised 5 physical fitness screening events across Singapore. Participants completed the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q) and exercise participation questionnaire, and provided demographical data prior to the physical tests. Physical tests comprised of the Senior Fitness Test (SFT) developed by Rikli and Jones in 1999, which includes measures of upper and lower body strength, aerobic endurance, upper and lower body flexibility, and agility. Participants included in this study were community dwelling adults aged 60 years and above who were ambulant with or without use of aid and were able to complete all tests. Scores were compared to that of older adults in Hong Kong using t-test by 5-year age categories. Results: A total of 274 participants attended the island-wide events. Two hundred and five participants (53 men and 152 women) were included in the study. The average age of the participants is 68.13 years. In general, women were more flexible than men during the back scratch as well as the chair sit and reach tests while men fared better in the other tests (8-foot up and go, 30-sec chair stand, 30-sec arm curl, and 2-min step test). There was also a general decline in performance across age groups over time in all tests. When comparing our results with the normative values derived from older adults in Hong Kong, both groups were comparable in terms of their performance in back scratch and 8-foot up and go test. As for the chair sit and reach and 30- sec chair stand rise, while men aged 65–69 years in Singapore performed significantly better (p < 0.05) than their Hong Kong counterparts, no statistical differences were observed for all other age groups and among females. Lastly for the 30-sec arm curl test and the 2-min step test, older adults in Singapore were found to be significantly better across all age groups and gender except males within the 80–84 age group who had comparable results to their Hong Kong counterparts in these tests. As there was no available data for older adults in Hong Kong aged 60–64 years and above 85 years, we were not able to compare results in these age categories. Conclusion: While both Singapore and Hong Kong are Asian countries, physical fitness levels appear to be different. This may be due to different lifestyles and infrastructure that supports physical activity and exercise. Singaporeans tend to fare better at arm curl test and the 2-min step test, while there were no differences for other tests. Clinical Relevance: Establishing fitness norms for a country is important in identifying physical capacities of older adults. Using normative data from other countries may not be appropriate as there are other factors which influence a person's physical activity.

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