Publications by authors named "Mathias Skjodt"

Physical activity (PA) reduces the risk of negative mental and physical health outcomes in older adults. Traditionally, PA intensity is classified using METs, with 1 MET equal to 3.5 mL O·min·kg.

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  • * 1360 older adults (65+) from four European countries participated, comparing three groups: ERS with SMS, ERS alone, and a control group.
  • * While increases in functional capacity were noted after four months favoring the ERS-SMS group, these differences were minimal and not maintained in the long term, suggesting that the benefits of adding SMS were uncertain.
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Introduction: Programmes for older people aimed at increasing physical activity (PA) and reducing sedentary behaviour (SB) traditionally focus on achieving functional and health improvements. Focusing on enjoyment and social inclusion could strengthen adherence and help reach older people with social disadvantages. The aim of this study is to assess the feasibility and acceptability of the Join4Joy approach in PA programmes and its assessment tools.

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  • The study investigates how accurately physical activity intensity is classified in older adults using metabolic equivalent of task (MET) metrics, considering changes in resting metabolic rate (RMR) and aerobic capacity with age.
  • Ninety-eight participants aged 75-90 had their RMR and oxygen consumption measured during various activities to compare estimated METs and measured METs, as well as absolute versus relative intensity classifications.
  • Results showed that estimated METs often underestimated activity intensity and that there was a significant mismatch in moderate intensity classification for many individuals, indicating a need to revise current metrics for assessing physical activity in older adults.
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Background: This study details the within-trial economic evaluation and long-term economic model of SITLESS, a multi-country, three-armed randomized controlled trial comparing a combined intervention of exercise referral schemes (ERS) enhanced by self-management strategies (SMS) against ERS alone and usual care (UC).

Methods: A cost-utility analysis, conducted from the base-case perspective of the National Health Service and personal and social services, estimated the incremental cost per incremental quality-adjusted life year (QALY) and years in full capability (YFC). A secondary analysis combined the costs with a broad set of outcomes within a cost-consequence framework, from a societal perspective.

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Background: The SITLESS programme comprises exercise referral schemes and self-management strategies and has been evaluated in a trial in Denmark, Spain, Germany and Northern Ireland. The aim of this qualitative study was to understand the implementation and contextual aspects of the intervention in relation to the mechanisms of impact and to explore the perceived effects.

Methods: Qualitative methodologies were nested in the SITLESS trial including 71 individual interviews and 12 focus groups targeting intervention and control group participants from postintervention to 18-month follow-up in all intervention sites based on a semi-structured topic guide.

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Background: Older adults are recommended to sleep 7-8 h/day. Time in bed (TIB) differs from sleep duration and includes also the time of lying in bed without sleeping. Long TIB (≥9 h) are associated with self-reported sedentary behavior, but the association between objectively measured physical activity, sedentary behavior and TIB is unknown.

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The study aim was to explore associations between sedentary behavior (SB) bouts and physical function in 1360 community-dwelling older adults (≥65 years old). SB was measured using an ActiGraph wGT3X + accelerometer for seven consecutive days at the dominant hip and processed accordingly. Various SB bout lengths were assessed including: 1- to 9-minutes; 10- to 29-minutes; 30- to 59-minutes; and ≥60-minutes, as well as maximum time spent in a SB bout.

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Background: Sedentary behavior (SB) and physical activity (PA) are important determinants of health in older adults. This study aimed to describe the composition of accelerometer-measured SB and PA in older adults, to explore self-reported context-specific SB, and to assess sociodemographic and functional correlates of engaging in higher levels of SB in participants of a multicenter study including four European countries.

Method: One thousand three hundred and sixty community-dwelling older adults from the SITLESS study (61.

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Article Synopsis
  • SITLESS is a randomized controlled trial aimed at improving exercise referral programs for older adults by adding self-management strategies to reduce sedentary behavior and promote long-term physical activity.
  • The study uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate the implementation and impact of the intervention, including surveys, observations, and interviews with participants and trainers.
  • Ethical approval has been granted, and participants will provide informed consent before joining the study, ensuring that findings will be responsibly shared after the research is completed.
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Introduction: Promoting physical activity (PA) and reducing sedentary behaviour (SB) may exert beneficial effects on the older adult population, improving behavioural, functional, health and psychosocial outcomes in addition to reducing health, social care and personal costs. This paper describes the planned economic evaluation of SITLESS, a multicountry three-armed pragmatic randomised controlled trial (RCT) which aims to assess the short-term and long-term effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a complex intervention on SB and PA in community-dwelling older adults, based on exercise referral schemes enhanced by a group intervention providing self-management strategies to encourage lifestyle change.

Methods And Analysis: A within-trial economic evaluation and long-term model from both a National Health Service/personal social services perspective and a broader societal perspective will be undertaken alongside the SITLESS multinational RCT.

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Background: In older adults, musculoskeletal pain is associated with increased concerns of falling, reduced balance and increased occurrence of falls. In younger adults, the intensity of neck pain and low back pain is associated with increased postural sway. It is not known if pain further impairs balance and concerns of falling in mobility-limited older adults, and if so, whether this is associated with different intensities of pain.

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Background: Older adults are the fastest growing segment of the world's population. Recent evidence indicates that excessive sitting time is harmful to health, independent of meeting the recommended moderate to vigorous physical activity (PA) guidelines. The SITLESS project aims to determine whether exercise referral schemes (ERS) can be enhanced by self-management strategies (SMSs) to reduce sedentary behaviour (SB), increase PA and improve health, quality of life and function in the long term, as well as psychosocial outcomes in community-dwelling older European citizens from four countries, within a three-armed pragmatic randomised controlled trial, compared with ERS alone and also with general recommendations about PA.

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Aims: The aim of this study was to determine the associations between neck pain, concerns of falling and physical performance in older people.

Methods: Cross-sectional study of 423 community-dwelling Danes aged 75 years and older. Measures consisted of self-reported neck pain, physical performance (Short Physical Performance Battery), self-reported psychological concerns related to falling (Falls Efficacy Scale International), depression (Major Depression Inventory), cognitive function (Mini Mental State Examination), self-reported low-back pain and self-reported history of falls.

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Incomplete voluntary muscle activation may contribute to impaired muscle mechanical function and physical function in older adults. Exercise interventions have been shown to increase voluntary muscle activation, although the evidence is sparse for mobility-limited older adults, particularly in association with physical function. This study examined the effects of 12weeks of power training on outcomes of voluntary muscle activation and gait speed in mobility-limited older adults from the Healthy Ageing Network of Competence (HANC) study.

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