Exploring the Relationship Between Participation in Leisure Sports Activities, Health Behaviors, and Life...

Background and Objectives: As the world enters an aging society, it is necessary to focus on older individuals, especially those with disabilities. The latter must face two issues, their disability and their age; therefore, a lot of attention must be paid to their health. In this study, we aimed to explore the association between participation in leisure sports activities, health behaviors, and life satisfaction among older adults with disabilities. The research question we aimed to address was as follows: Can participation in leisure sports activities positively affect the health behaviors and life satisfaction of older adults with disabilities? Materials and Methods: Data were sourced from the 2023 Survey on the Status of Persons with Disabilities organized by the Korea Ministry of Health and Welfare. The collected data were analyzed using frequency analyses, chi-squared tests, and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Results: Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that regarding sex, the average odds ratio (OR) was 1.525 (p = 0.001) for males. Regarding efforts to control weight, the average OR was 1.808 (p < 0.001) for "tried to reduce", 1.893 (p < 0.001) for "tried to maintain", and 1.245 (p = 0.345) for "tried to increase". Regarding smoking, the average OR was 0.612 (p = 0.008) for "smoke daily", 0.947 (p = 0.889) for "smoke occasionally", and 1.175 (p = 0.255) for "smoked in the past but do not smoke now". Regarding health status satisfaction, the average OR was 2.014 (p = 0.022) for very satisfied, 1.846 (p = 0.013) for somewhat satisfied, and 1.347 (p = 0.220) for somewhat dissatisfied. Regarding friendship satisfaction, the average OR was 9.177 (p < 0.001) for very satisfied, 5.428 (p < 0.001) for somewhat satisfied, and 3.024 (p = 0.011) for somewhat dissatisfied. Namely, participation in leisure sports activities was significantly related to weight control efforts, smoking cessation, increased health status satisfaction, and increased friendship satisfaction among older adults with disabilities. Conclusions: Access to leisure sports activities should be increased to improve the health of older adults with disabilities. Furthermore, leisure sports activities should be considered in the establishment of policies and services to enhance the health of these individuals.