Background: participation restriction, defined as 'problems an individual may experience in involvement in life situations' (e.g. work and leisure), reflects difficulty functioning at a societal level and is a key component of disability. Our objective was to describe changes in participation in older men over a 2-year period and to identify baseline variables associated with participation and change in participation over the 2-year period.
Methods: one thousand and three hundred and twenty-seven community-dwelling men aged 70 years or over who completed the baseline and 2-year follow-up phases of the Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project, a population-based cohort study in Sydney, Australia, were studied. Participation restriction and a range of other variables were measured using self-report and performance measures. Regression analyses were conducted to examine factors associated with participation and change in participation.
Results: over the 2-year period, participation in life roles deteriorated in 47.3% (627/1,327) of men, stayed the same in 20.7% (275/1,327) and improved in the remainder (32.0%). Overall, there was a significant deterioration in participation (P < 0.001). Reduced participation at 2-year follow-up was significantly associated with the following baseline factors: age, more comorbidities, mild cognitive impairment or dementia, lower mood, weakness, slower gait, worse activities of daily living performance, driving and baseline participation score. These variables explained 56% of the variance in participation at 2 years.
Conclusion: participation in life roles worsened over a 2-year period in some community-dwelling older men. A number of associated factors were identified, which may provide targets for intervention to improve participation among older men.
Keywords: aged; function; geriatric assessment; men; older people; participation.