Shanahan, J,Coman, L,Ryan, F,Saunders, J,O'Sullivan, K,Bhriain, ON,Clifford, AM

2016

December

Public Health

To dance or not to dance? A comparison of balance, physical fitness and quality of life in older Irish set dancers and age-matched controls

Published

()

Irish set dancing Older adults Community Gerontology Exercise RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED-TRIAL EXERCISE PROGRAM POSTURAL CONTROL ELDERLY-PEOPLE SOCIAL DANCERS ACTIVITY SCALE PREVENT FALLS MINI-BESTEST ADULTS COMMUNITY

141

56

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Objective: The objective of this study is to determine if older adults regularly participating in Irish set dancing have superior balance, physical fitness and quality of life compared to age-matched controls.Study design: This study used a community-based, observational cross-sectional design.Methods: Regular set dancers (n = 39) and age-matched controls (n = 33) were recruited. Participants were assessed using the physical activity scale for the elderly (physical activity levels), mini-BESTest (balance) and senior fitness test (battery of functional fitness tests). Quality of life was also assessed using the EuroQol EQ visual analogue scale.Results: When controlling for between-group differences in levels of physical activity (ANCOVA analysis), the dancers had significantly better balance, functional capacity and quality of life (all P < 0.05) compared to controls. No differences between the groups were observed in other measures of functional fitness.Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest regular participation in set dancing is associated with health benefits for older adults. These results may inform future studies prospectively examining the role of set dancing for falls prevention, emotional well-being and cognitive function in community-dwelling older adults. (C) 2016 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

10.1016/j.puhe.2016.07.015