Objective: Several kinds of exercises have been recommended to improve the quality of life (QoL). However, it is not fully investigated which kinds of exercise especially affect the QoL. This study is aimed to ascertain which kinds of exercise have effects on the five subsets of the QoL.
Subjective & Methods: This was a cross-sectional study using the public data from the sixth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2014 (n = 7551). We researched whether the subjects performed the 3 kinds of exercise (resistance, flexibility, and walking) or not. Demographic factors expected to affect the exercises included age, sex, body mass index (BMI), weight change, area of residence, EuroQoL, and EQ-5D. EuroQoL consisted of 5 subsets such as mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression. The independent relationships between each exercise and 5 subsets of EuroQoL were determined using odds ratios (OR) adjusted for 4 demographic factors (age-group, sex, weight change, and area of residence) by multivariate logistic regression analysis.
Results: The ratio of resistance, flexibility, and walking exerciser were 66.2%, 66.2%, and 66.1% among the total population, respectively. All kinds of exercisers were younger and had higher EQ-5D scores than non-exercisers (P < 0.001 in all). Men worked out more resistance exercise than women (P < 0.001). Walking exercisers had lower BMI than non-walkers (23.6 ± 3.4 vs. 23.9 ± 3.4 kg/m²; P = 0.005). Subjects who lived in urban area do much more exercise than those who lived in rural area (P < 0.001 in all kinds of exercise). From the unadjusted regression models, resistance and walking exercisers had significant correlations with all 5 subsets of QoL. However, the adjusted logistic regression model revealed that only mobility and self-care subsets were significantly correlated with flexibility (P = 0.041 and P = 0.013, respectively) and walking (P = 0.027 and P < 0.001, respectively) exerciser.
Conclusion: Among the 5 subsets of the QoL, mobility and self-care have significant relationships with flexibility and walking. Further prospective studies are needed to guarantee the effects of exercise prescription on QoL improvement in mobility and self-care. |
