title: White Matter Volume Mediates the Relationship Between Self-Efficacy and Mobility in Older Women.
abstract: Background/Study Context: With our aging population, understanding determinants of healthy aging is a priority. One essential component of healthy aging is mobility. Although self-efficacy can directly impact mobility in older adults, it is unknown what role brain health may play in this relationship.
  
  
  
  The authors conducted a cross-sectional pilot analysis of community-dwelling women (N = 80, mean age = 69 years) to examine whether brain volume mediates the relationship between falls-related self-efficacy, as measured by the Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale, and mobility, as measured by the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test. Age, depression, education, functional comorbidities, and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) were included in the model as covariates.
  
  
  
  The authors report that total white matter volume, specifically, significantly mediates the relationship between self-efficacy and mobility, where higher self-efficacy was associated with greater white matter volume (r = .28), which, in turn, was associated with better mobility (r = -.30).
  
  
  
  This pilot study extends our understanding of the psychosocial and neurological factors that contribute to mobility and provides insight into effective strategies that may be used to improve functional independence among older adults. Future prospective and intervention studies are required to further elucidate the nature of the relationship between self-efficacy, mobility, and brain health.
authors.affiliation: a Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Urbana , Illinois , USA.
authors.forename: Lindsay S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Nagamatsu
authors.affiliation: b Aging, Mobility, and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Physical Therapy, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, and Centre for Hip Health and Mobility , University of British Columbia , Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada.
authors.forename: Chun Liang
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.affiliation: c Aging, Mobility, and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory and Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation , University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute , Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada.
authors.forename: Jennifer C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.affiliation: b Aging, Mobility, and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Physical Therapy, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, and Centre for Hip Health and Mobility , University of British Columbia , Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada.
authors.forename: John R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Best
authors.affiliation: b Aging, Mobility, and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Physical Therapy, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, and Centre for Hip Health and Mobility , University of British Columbia , Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada.
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Liu-Ambrose
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D051346:Mobility Limitation; D010865:Pilot Projects; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D055070:Resistance Training; D020377:Self Efficacy; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology*; D066127:White Matter / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*