Going outdoors daily predicts long-term functional and health benefits among ambulatory older people.
OBJECTIVE
This article examines the association between frequency of going out of the house and health and functional status among older people.


METHODS
A randomly chosen cohort of ambulatory participants born in 1920 or 1921 from the Jerusalem Longitudinal Study underwent assessments for health, functional, and psychosocial variables at ages 70 and 77. Twelve-year mortality data were collected.


RESULTS
Women went out daily less than did men. Participants going out daily at age 70 reported significantly fewer new complaints at age 77 of musculoskeletal pain, sleep problems, urinary incontinence, and decline in activities of daily living (ADLs). Logistic regression analysis indicated that not going out daily at age 70 was predictive of subsequent dependence in ADL, poor self-rated health, and urinary incontinence at age 77.


CONCLUSIONS
Going out daily is beneficial among independent older people, correlating with reduced functional decline and improved health measures.
Jacobs
Jeremy M
JM
Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem, Israel.
Cohen
Aaron
A
Hammerman-Rozenberg
Robert
R
Azoulay
Daniel
D
Maaravi
Yoram
Y
Stessman
Jochanan
J
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D016330:Frail Elderly / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D018577:Homebound Persons / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007557:Israel; D007899:Leisure Activities; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009026:Mortality; D009043:Motor Activity; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014549:Urinary Incontinence