Research Article

Physical Performance in Older Cohorts: A Comparison of 81-Year-Old Swedish Men and Women Born Twelve Years Apart—Results from the Swedish Study “Good Aging in Skåne”

Table 2

Description of the 81-year-old women in the birth cohorts 1920–22 and 1932–34 from the Good Aging in Skåne general population study.

81-year-old womenCohort born 1920–22, n = 118Cohort born 1932–34, n = 136 value

Year of examination2001–20042013–2015
Age (y), mean (SD)81.0 (0.36)81.0 (0.48)0.839
Height (cm), mean (SD)159.5 (5.9)160.2 (5.3)0.333
Weight (kg), mean (SD)66.2 (11.7)69.2 (11.9)0.050
BMI
 Normal/underweight, n (%)53 (44.9)42 (30.9)
 Overweight, n (%)44 (37.3)66 (48.5)0.066
 Obese, n (%)21 (17.8)28 (20.6)
Marital status
 Married/cohabiting, n (%)39 (33.3)55 (40.4)
 Single/widowed/divorced78 (66.7)81 (59.6)0.243
Education
 Elementary school, n (%)75 (64.7)76 (55.9)
 Secondary school/university, n (%)41 (35.3)60 (44.1)0.157
Type of residential area
 Rural, n (%)8 (6.8)19 (14.0)
 Urban, n (%)109 (93.2)117 (86.0)0.067
Smoking habits
 Current smoker, n (%)12 (10.3)8 (5.9)
 Former smoker, n (%)20 (17.1)53 (39.0)0.001
 Never smoked, n (%)85 (72.6)75 (55.1)
Alcohol consumption
 Never/at most once per month, n (%)91 (77.8)85 (63.0)
 2–4 times per month, n (%)20 (17.1)28 (20.7)0.009
 2-3 times per week, n (%)6 (5.1)22 (16.3)
Physical activity past year
 Mostly sedentary, n (%)16 (13.8)16 (11.9)
 Light activity, n (%)70 (60.3)83 (61.5)0.889
 Strenuous activity, n (%)30 (25.9)36 (26.7)
Pain
 Back/pelvis, n (%)40 (37.4)38 (28.1)0.127
 Lower extremities, n (%)24 (23.1)37 (27.4)0.446
 Upper extremities, n (%)20 (19.0)32 (23.7)0.385
Comorbidity
 Pulmonary disease: tuberculosis, asthma/COPD, n (%)17 (14.5)20 (14.8)0.949
 Heart disease: infarction/angina/heart failure, n (%)43 (36.4)37 (27.6)0.133
 Stroke: infarction/hemorrhage, n (%)9 (7.6)12 (8.9)0.717
 Fractures: vertebrae/pelvis/lower extremities, n (%)13 (11.0)17 (12.5)0.715
 Upper extremities, n (%)32 (27.1)43 (31.6)0.433
 Osteoarthritis: back/knee/hip, n (%)28 (23.7)55 (40.4)0.005
 Parkinson’s disease, n (%)
 Diabetes, n (%)8 (6.8)9 (6.7)0.971
 Depressive mood, n (%)10 (8.6)3 (2.3)0.029
 MMSE score < 24, n (%)20 (17.1)13 (9.7)0.084
 Anemia, n (%)6 (5.2)13 (9.7)0.167
Medication
 Use of sedatives, n (%)37 (31.4)34 (25.0)0.260
 Polypharmacy, ≥5 prescribed medications, n (%)48 (40.7)64 (47.1)0.307