This study is based on prospective semi-annual follow-up data over a 3.5-year period on the control group recruited for a randomised controlled trial entitled Screening and counselling for physical activity and mobility in older people (SCAMOB, ISRCTN 07330512). The study was approved by the Ethical Committee of the Central Finland Central Hospital. Participants were recruited from the population register and selected based on that they were community-dwelling, aged 75–81-years, living in the city centre of Jyväskylä, Finland, were able to walk 500 m without help from another person, were moderately physically active or sedentary, had a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score >21 and no medical contraindications for physical activity. Of 632 people included in a randomised controlled trial, 314 (the control group) were followed up at 6-month intervals for the naturally occurring changes in mobility for 3.5 years. Of them, at baseline 100 people had difficulty walking 2 km and were excluded, leaving 214 people for the analysis on incident difficulty in 2-km walking. The corresponding figures for 0.5-km walking were 48 and 266, respectively. Over the 3.5-year follow-up, among those without difficulties in walking 2 km, 28 dropped out and among those without difficulties in walking 0.5 km, 35 dropped out. (Author/publisher)
Abstract