Elsevier

Public Health

Volume 141, December 2016, Pages 56-62
Public Health

Original Research
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

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2016.07.015Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Physical activity may improve function and reduce mortality in older adults.

  • Health benefits associated with regular Irish set dancing activity were examined.

  • Results show regular set dancers had better balance, endurance and quality of life.

  • Results will inform future research examining the role of Irish set dancing.

  • Those with chronic conditions or socially isolated may benefit from set dancing.

Abstract

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.

Introduction

Epidemiological studies suggest the global population is ageing.1, 2 Consequently, healthcare costs, social burden and the prevalence of chronic disease are expected to increase.2, 3 Strategies to promote health and well-being are paramount to optimize independence,4, 5 functional performance6, 7 and quality of life in older adults.8

Regular participation in exercise is one approach that may delay age-related decline and promote neuroplastic preservation of physical and cognitive function.9, 10, 11 Exercise programmes designed to prevent falls have been shown to improve balance,12, 13 mobility13 and reduce the number12 and rate of falls in older adults.14 Other exercise types including Tai Chi and dance may also afford beneficial effects on balance,15, 16 physical performance and quality of life.15 Research has found that older adults with multiyear dance participation have superior physical performance,17 balance,17, 18, 19 cognitive performance18 and motor function18 compared to age-matched controls.

Irish set dancing is one form of dance which may have positive health effects for older adults. Irish set dancing is a social cultural dance genre, originating in Ireland. This dance genre incorporates socialization,20 aerobic exercise,21 repetitive multidirectional movement in group formation22 and musical accompaniment.23 This complex integration of stimulatory input creates an enjoyable and energetic setting20, 24 and may stimulate neuroplastic preservation of balance and physical fitness.25 Set dancing may also preserve and/or enhance quality of life as the enriched social, musical and cultural context foster community networks, social identity and cohesion.26, 27 Since the 1970s, the popularity of set dancing has grown exponentially. Today, set dancing is practiced by older adults both nationally in Ireland and internationally.20 This has led to the development of trans-continental social networks and friendships.

Despite the national and worldwide practice of Irish set dancing in this population and potential health implications aforementioned, no study has established if older adults who regularly participate in Irish set dancing have better balance, physical fitness and quality of life compared to those who do not engage in Irish set dancing. Given that effective health promotion strategies need to target multiple health-related issues associated with ageing, investigations into the potential multidimensional health benefits associated with Irish set dancing are warranted. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine if older adults who regularly participate in Irish set dancing perform better in measures of balance, physical fitness and quality of life compared to age-matched controls. This study will provide important preliminary data to inform future large observational and experimental studies.

Section snippets

Methods

An observational cross-sectional design, with two groups was used for this study. The strobe guidelines were used to develop and report this study.28 Ethical approval was obtained from the Education and Health Sciences Research Ethics Committee (2014-04-13). Recruitment and data collection and analysis took place in 2014 and 2015. Procedures similar to optimal matching were used to match both groups,29 using frequency scores for age.

Set dancers and age-matched controls were recruited from

Results

A total of 39 set dancers and 34 age-matched controls volunteered to participate. One volunteer was not eligible due to a musculoskeletal condition. The final sample recruited consisted of 39 set dancers and 33 age-matched controls.

The demographic profile of participants is presented in Table 1. There were no significant differences between the groups' age, weight, height or body mass index (BMI). More females participated in the study, indicating results maybe more representative of this

Discussion

Physical activity is recommended to maintain balance, independence and cognition and may reduce the risk of mortality in older people.44, 45 To the authors' knowledge, this is the first published study to examine if older adults who regularly participate in set dancing have better balance, functional fitness and quality of life compared to controls. The positive findings of this study may inform exercise initiatives for older adults.

Set dancing involves continues forward and backward movements

Ethical approval

Ethical approval was obtained from the Education and Health Sciences Research Ethics Committee (2014-04-13).

Funding

No financial disclosures were reported by the authors of this paper.

Competing interests

All the authors named above declare that they do not have any direct interests related to this research.

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