Association between Continuous Wearable Activity Monitoring and Self-Reported Functioning in Assisted Living Facility...

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Sleep Science

Background:

• Assessing physical functioning is crucial for maintaining independent living in older adults.
• Preclinical assessment and continuous monitoring of physical function during daily life are highly beneficial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze associations between objectively measured physical activity and sleep patterns (via wrist actigraphy) and self-reported difficulties in activities of daily living.
• To investigate these associations in residents of assisted living facilities and nursing homes.

Main Methods:

• Utilized wrist actigraphy to monitor physical activity and sleep patterns in 36 residents (average age 80.4 years) without dementia.
• Correlated actigraphy-derived indices (activity level, rhythm, sleep patterns, external stimuli response) with activities of daily living measures using Spearman rank-order correlation.
• Applied Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons.

Main Results:

• Significant negative correlations were found between activity level (ρ=-0.49, p<0.05) and night-time activity variance (ρ=-0.69, p<0.01) with activities of daily living scores.
• A trend was observed between the similarity of individual activity patterns to facility common activities and activities of daily living (ρ=-0.44, p<0.1).
• Longitudinal analysis indicated associations between sleep/activity patterns and local weather variables.

Conclusions:

• Actigraphy provides objective insights into older adults' behavior, reflecting functional status and changes within care facilities.
• Individual variability in activity patterns was substantial, potentially limiting result reliability.
• External factors like weather and facility activities influence behavior and require consideration in future research.