Cognitive capacity correlation with the functional physical fitness of older adults

Uvod: S staranjem se povečujejo spremembe na psihofizičnem področju. Splošno in v strokovnih krogih so mnenja o povezanosti spoznavnih sposobnostih s funkcijsko telesno pripravljenostjo starejših odraslih deljena. Namen: Raziskati povezanost med spoznavnimi sposobnostmi in funkcijsko telesno pripravljenostjo starejših odraslih, živečih v domu starejših občanov. Metode dela: V raziskavi so sodelovali prostovoljci doma upokojencev, vključenih je bilo 28 preiskovancev, povprečno starih 87 let. Vsi so bili samostojni, brez pripomočkov za hojo, z ustreznostjo vključitvenih in izključitvenih dejavnikov. V raziskovalnem delu sta bila uporabljena Test telesne pripravljenosti starejših oseb in Kratek preizkus spoznavnih sposobnosti. Povezanost med telesno dejavnostjo in spoznavnimi sposobnostmi smo ugotavljali s Pearsonovim koeficientom korelacije (p ? 0,05). Razlike med spoznavno dobrimi in spoznavno slabšimi smo preizkušali s Studentovim t-testom za neodvisna vzorca (p ? 0,05). Rezultati: Med spoznavno dobrimi in spoznavno slabšimi preiskovanci pri večini spremenljivk funkcijske telesne pripravljenosti ni bilo statistično pomembnih razlik (p > 0,05). Skupini sta bili statistično pomembno različni (p = 0,047) le pri testu gibčnosti ramenskega obroča. Povezanost med posameznimi testi in spoznavnimi sposobnostmi preiskovancev je bila šibka. Razprava in zaključek: Spoznavne sposobnosti starejših odraslih ne vplivajo v večji meri na upad telesne pripravljenosti. Za nadaljnjo načrtovanje telesnih dejavnosti starejših odraslih je potrebna analiza telesne pripravljenosti in razumevanje vpliva spoznavnih sposobnosti na le te.Introduction: Psychophysical changes increase due to aging. Experts’ views on connection between cognitive abilities and functional physical fitness of older people differ. Purpose: To investigate the connection between cognitive abilities and functional physical fitness of older people living in a home for elderly people. Methods: 28 people with an average age of 87 years old living in a nursing home have a voluntarily participated in the research. They were all independent, without using any devices to support their walking, and with appropriate inclusion and exclusion factors. A Senior fitness test and Mini-mental state examination have been applied in the research part of the diploma. The correlation between the functional physical fitness and the cognitive abilities has been determined with help of the Pearson’s correlation coefficient (p0.05). The differences between cognitively stronger and weaker participants have been tested with help of the Student’s t-test for independent samples (p0.05). Results: There were no statistically relevant differences (p>0.05) between cognitively stronger and weaker participants in most variables, the average data values on functional physical fitness. Both research groups have only shown statistically relevant differences (p=0.047) in relation with the shoulder joint flexibility test. The correlation between single test and cognitive abilities of participants was low. Discussion and conclusion: Cognitive abilities of older people do not significantly affect the decline in functional physical fitness. To plan physical activities of older people in the future, the analysis of functional physical fitness and the understanding of the impact of cognitive abilities on functional physical fitness will be needed