[Are rheumatic complaints significantly related to functional ability after 60 year of age?].

Introduction: Medical care focused on functional abilities gives the elderly with arthritis a possibility of living an independent, active life and participating in social activities, and thus it is seen as the policy of equal chances.

Objectives: The aim of the current paper is the assessment of the Polish adult population mobility level, the changes coming with age, and the statistical significance of relations between rheumatic complaints and a decrease in functional abilities in the elderly.

Patients And Methods: The results of the all-Poland epidemiological research are presented. The survey conducted on a random sample of adult Poles with arthritis took place in 2002. A total of 4017 respondents answered questionnaires prepared by professional investigators.

Results: A significant deterioration of functional abilities can be noticed after the age of 40 and it becomes even more severe after 60. A negative assessment of musculoskeletal functions was declared by 70% of the investigated arthritis elderly people. Respondents did not take into account cognitive dissonance when comparing themselves with a peer group. That is why every second patient considered himself mobile enough for his/her age. A low functional assessment relates significantly to the awareness of having arthritis. Higher education increases chances of maintaining functional abilities up to older age. Exercises "for health" are more popular among older men than older women.

Conclusions: Effective preventing the elderly from physical unfitness should be the duty of individuals, medical care and social policy. Popularizing information on the benefits of physical exercises, awareness of the disease, and shifting the time of intervention to the middle age generation can help achieve this aim.