Assessing Relationships between Physically Demanding Work and Late-Life Disability in Italian Nonagenarian Women Living in a Rural Area

Gemma Lombardi, Silvia Pancani, Francesca Lorenzini, Federica Vannetti, Guido Pasquini, Roberta Frandi, Nona Turcan, Lorenzo Razzolini, Raffaello Molino Lova, Francesca Cecchi and Claudio Macchi
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Gemma Lombardi: IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, 50143 Florence, Italy
Silvia Pancani: IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, 50143 Florence, Italy
Francesca Lorenzini: Medical School, University of Florence, 50134 Florence, Italy
Federica Vannetti: IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, 50143 Florence, Italy
Guido Pasquini: IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, 50143 Florence, Italy
Roberta Frandi: IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, 50143 Florence, Italy
Nona Turcan: IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, 50143 Florence, Italy
Lorenzo Razzolini: Department of Neurofarba, University of Florence, 50139 Florence, Italy
Raffaello Molino Lova: IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, 50143 Florence, Italy
Francesca Cecchi: IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, 50143 Florence, Italy
Claudio Macchi: IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, 50143 Florence, Italy

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 14, 1-12

Abstract: As more and more persons live into their 90s and beyond, investigating causes of disability in the oldest-old population is relevant for public health implications to plan preventive strategies and rehabilitation interventions. A negative association between physically demanding work and midlife physical function has been shown, but there is a paucity of longitudinal studies investigating possible work-related long-term effects in the oldest old. This study investigates the relationship between physically demanding work exposure and late-life physical performances, disability, general health status, and quality of life in a sample of women aged 90 years and over inside the Mugello Study. Sociodemographic data, cognitive and functional status, lifestyle, medical history, drug use, and work history were collected from 236 participants. Farmers had a lower percentage of individuals with preserved independence in basic activities of daily living compared to other occupations. However, in the multivariate analysis, only a higher cognitive function remained associated with functional independence. While confirming the well-known association between cognitive and functional decline in very old age, our results do not support the hypothesis that the negative effects of physical work exposure observed in midlife are relevant to predict disability in nonagenarian women.

Keywords: nonagenarians; physically demanding work; functional limitations; aging; disability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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