Association of day length and weather conditions with physical activity levels in older community dwelling people.
BACKGROUND
Weather is a potentially important determinant of physical activity. Little work has been done examining the relationship between weather and physical activity, and potential modifiers of any relationship in older people. We therefore examined the relationship between weather and physical activity in a cohort of older community-dwelling people.


METHODS
We analysed prospectively collected cross-sectional activity data from community-dwelling people aged 65 and over in the Physical Activity Cohort Scotland. We correlated seven day triaxial accelerometry data with daily weather data (temperature, day length, sunshine, snow, rain), and a series of potential effect modifiers were tested in mixed models: environmental variables (urban vs rural dwelling, percentage of green space), psychological variables (anxiety, depression, perceived behavioural control), social variables (number of close contacts) and health status measured using the SF-36 questionnaire.


RESULTS
547 participants, mean age 78.5 years, were included in this analysis. Higher minimum daily temperature and longer day length were associated with higher activity levels; these associations remained robust to adjustment for other significant associates of activity: age, perceived behavioural control, number of social contacts and physical function. Of the potential effect modifier variables, only urban vs rural dwelling and the SF-36 measure of social functioning enhanced the association between day length and activity; no variable modified the association between minimum temperature and activity.


CONCLUSIONS
In older community dwelling people, minimum temperature and day length were associated with objectively measured activity. There was little evidence for moderation of these associations through potentially modifiable health, environmental, social or psychological variables.
Ageing and Health, University of Dundee, Dundee, Scotland.
Miles D
MD
Witham
Dundee Epidemiology and Biostatistics Unit, University of Dundee, Dundee, Scotland.
Peter T
PT
Donnan
Dundee Epidemiology and Biostatistics Unit, University of Dundee, Dundee, Scotland.
Thenmalar
T
Vadiveloo
Department of Health Psychology, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
Falko F
FF
Sniehotta
Department of Public Health, University of Dundee, Dundee, Scotland.
Iain K
IK
Crombie
Department of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland.
Zhiqiang
Z
Feng
Ageing and Health, University of Dundee, Dundee, Scotland.
Marion E T
ME
McMurdo
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016852:Housing for the Elderly; D006801:Humans; D009043:Motor Activity; D012606:Scotland; D012621:Seasons; D014887:Weather