Associate Professor, PhD M.N. Malkov¹
Associate Professor, PhD I.E. Yudenko¹
Prof., Dr.Biol. S.I. Loginov^1
1Surgut state university, Surgut

Keywords: physical activity, IPAQ, sedentary behavior, visually impaired people, hearing impaired people, healthy people.

Background. The World Health Organization (WHO) rankes physical activity among the key factors of unfluence on health and well-being [12]. Physical activity, however, is reported to rapidly fall the world over with the health deterioration trends [2, 9]. Thus Haegele J.A. et al. (2017) found visual impairments in adults being directrly correlated with the physical activity falls with expansion of sedentary behavior [9]. As for the hearing impairments, they are reported to double every age decade and, as a result, almost two of three 70-plus year-olds are diagnosed with serous hearing disorders [11]. Studies have shown that hearing impairments in elderly population are independently correlated with the low physical activity [7], while correlations of the visual / hearing impairments with the everyday physical activity still need to be explored [9].

Objective of the study was to analyze physical activity and sedantary behavious in population groups with visual / hearing impairments.

Methods and structure of the study. We sampled for the survey hearing impaired people (HIP, n=80, 45% female sample) aged 26.0±2.92 years on average; visually impaired people (VIP, n=21, 52.4% female sample) aged 43.2±14.0 years on average; and a reference group of healthy people (HP, n=142, 54.8% female sample) aged 34.1±12.6 years on average. Weekly physical activity of the hearing impaired people, visually and hearing impaired groups was tested by a Russian version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), with the survey data processed as recommended by the base IPAQ version [10].

Results and discussion. The survey found the highest physical activity claimed by housework in the visually impaired group and leisure-time in the hearing impaired group. The total sedantary time in the visually impaired group was rated significantly higher than in the hearing impaired group. Both unhealthy groups were tested with significantly lower physical activity than the healthy group: see Figure 1. It should be emphasized that the leisure-time physical activity was rated lowest in the hearing impaired group versus the visually and hearing impaired groups (Figure 1-D). It should also be noted that the hearing impaired men and women reported much more leisure time walking and higher energy costs claimed by the moderate and high leisure-time physical activity than the healthy group: see Table 1.

Figure 1. Group physical activity classified by the energy costs (in MET minutes per week, with 1 MET = 1,0 kcal/kg/h or 3,5 ml О₂ /kg/ min) and sedentary times reported by the visually, hearing impaired and healthy groups (n=21, n=80 and n=142, respectively)

Table 1. Hearing impaired versus healthy group lesure-time walking physical activity, MET min/ week (X̅, 0,95% CI)

Note: *male intergroup difference, р <0,0001, ** female intergroup difference, р <0,0001; X̅ mean arithmetic; 0,95% CI confidence interval (±1,96×SD).

Given on Figure 2A hereunder are the gender-specific classified health group physical activity rates – that show that 82% and 80% of the visually impaired women and men (respectively) are physically low-active versus the hearing impaired and healthy groups tested 6% to 35% physically low-active.

Figure 2. Gender-specific classified health group physical activity rates (LPA: low physical activity; MPA: moderate physical activity; VPA: vigorous physical activity) and sedentary time (classified by BD business days, WE weekends and TST total sedentary time)

The visually impaired men and women were tested with the highest sedentary time on weekends, business days and total sedentary times versus the hearing impaired and healthy groups (Figure 2-B). Note that the variance analysis showed that the hearing impaired men (F (1.82) = 4.3320, p = 0.0405) and women (F (1.74) = 9.4100, p = 0.0030) are less prone to sedentary behaviors than their healthy peers.

Having analyzed the relevant study reports, we found only a few reviews of the physical activity and sedentary behavior in people with sensory impairments including the visual and hearing ones. Most of the studies analyze the causes of visual impairments [6], while the physical inactivity and sedentary behavior related studies of these health groups are still very limited [3, 5]. We would mention in this context the World Report on Disability released ten years ago to provide recommendations on how disabled people with different diagnoses should be helped to cope with their life difficulties. The Report emphasized the need for support from a wide range of stakeholders including governmental agencies and NPO that could address specific local problems, conditional on more focused empirical research of the disabled people lifestyles in different aspects – including support from the practical biomedicine, psychology and pedagogy. There was a hope at some point that, with adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and publication of the World Report on Disability, this century will make a turn towards full inclusion of people with disabilities in the social life [1], but in reality we have seen no major breakthrough as yet.

In our largely unique work, we consider the poorly studied problem of the health-related physical activity in the disabled people’s lifestyles. Physical activity variations in hearing / visual impaired population groups are still underexplored in the context of the global physical activity falling trend [12]. There are reasons to believe that the physical activity drops in these health groups may be generally the same as for the population on the whole. However, knowing the lifestyle limitations associated with hearing / visual impairments plus the rapid expansion of sedentary behaviors, particularly during the coronavirus pandemy, the physical inactivity related problems cannot but aggravate. The urbanized Siberian North (Yugra) population is no exception, all the more that the locals have to stay indoors much more time than in other areas due to the harsh climate with long and frosty winters [2].

Healthy and unhealthy people are at least equally exposed to the risks of physical inactivity and sedentary behavior in some age periods – with the associating health risks that give rise to cardiovascular and oncological diseases, diabetes and metabolic disorders [12]. These health risks may be countered by scientifically grounded initiatives to cultivate in the vulnerable population groups moderate-intensive physical activity sensitive to individual preferences and environmental factors. Such initiatives taking into account modern behavioral control theories may facilitate social integration of people with health disorders.

The social integration initiatives are often hampered by the employment problems not unusual for the people with disabilities including low qualifications; lack of adaptable jobs; low wages; fears of potential demotions on the disability scales; losses of benefits for non-working disabled people; lack of accessible transport service; skeptical attitudes of the employers to their working abilities etc. [4]. It is natural that for these and other reasons many disabled people have to opt for different ways to stay busy, with a leisure-time physical activity considered one of such options as verified by the hearing impaired group in our Surgut subsample (Figure 1-D). Physically active behaviors of people with disabilities are known to expand their communication opportunities and communal connections [9] with the relevant health benefits [5].

One the whole, the research community agrees that visually impaired individuals tend to be less physically active than their sighted peers. Special studies need to be undertaken to better understand the visually impaired people’s attitudes to and potential motivations for leisure-time physical activity – all the more that at this juncture no correlation between the sedentary times and physical activity levels in this health group could been found [8].

Conclusion. The survey found 82% and 80% of the visually impaired female and male subsamples (respectively) physically inactive and reporting 8.4 hours of sedentary time per day on average. Their hearing impaired peers were found moderately (58% and 25%) and virogously active (36% and 40%, respectively), with their sedentary time reported to average 5.7 hours a day. In the healthy subgroup, women were tested more prone to low physical activity (33% and 14%), with men dominating in the vigorous-physical-activity subgroup (25% and 54%, respectively), with the sedentary time averaging 6.9 hours a day.

The study was run on a state order and sponsored by the Education and Youth Policy Department of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Yugra Territory Government under “New health technologies to optimize physical activity, improve health and analyze bodily responses to controlled physical training service in the KMAR Yugra population” Project.

References

1. World Health Organization: World Disability Report. [Electronic resource]. Available at: http://www. who.int/disabilities/ world_report / 2011 / report/ru/. Date of access:15.02. 2020.
2. Malkov M.N., Loginov S.I. Physical activity of adults depends on hearing impairment. Adaptivnaya fizicheskaya kultura. 2017. No. 1 (69). pp. 36-38.
3. Narzulaev S.B., Safronova I.N., Petukhov N.A. Aspects of social adaptation of persons with disabilities by means of physical education and sports. Vestnik TGPU (TSPU Bulletin). 2012. No. 5. pp. 154-160.
4. Puzin S.N., Khrapyilina L.P., Ogay D.S. Medical and social support for employment of persons with disabilities in market conditions. Mediko-sotsialnaya ekspertiza i reabilitatsiya. 2012. No. 2. pp. 3-6.
5. Stepanova O.N., Osokina E.A. Fitness system with deaf young women (25-35 years old). Uchenye zapiski universiteta im. P.F. Lesgafta. 2012. no. 1 (83). pp. 138-142.
6. Flaxman S.R., Bourne R.R., Resnikoff S. et al.  Global causes of blindness and distance vision impairment 1990–2020: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Glob. Health. 2017. V. 5, Issue 12. pp. 1221–E1234.: doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(17)30393-5.
7. Gispen F.E., Chen D.S., Genther D.J., Lin F.R. Association between Hearing Impairment and Lower Levels of Physical Activity in Older Adults. J. Am. Geriatr. Soc. 2014. V. 62. pp. 1427–1433.
8. Haegele J.A. Youth Leisure-Time Physical Activity from the Perspectives of Young Adults with Visual Impairments. European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity. 2018.  11, 2;4 doi: 10.5507/euj.2018.01.
9. Haegele J.A., Kirk T.N., Zhu X. Self-efficacy and physical activity among adults with visual impairments. Disabil. Health J. 2018. V. 11, N 2. pp. 324–329. doi: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2017.10.012.
10. International Physical Activity Questionnaire [Electronic resource]. Available at: https://sites.google.com/site/theipaq/. Date of access: 15.10.2015.
11. Lin F.R., Niparko J.K., Ferrucci L. Hearing loss prevalence in the United States. Arch. Intern. Med.  2011. V. 171. pp. 1851–1852.
12. WHO: Global recommendations on physical activity for health. World Health Organization, Geneva; 2010. [Electronic resource]. Date of access: 08.04.2020.

Corresponding author: apokin_vv@mail.ru

Abstract

Objective of the study was to analyze physical activity and sedantary behavious in population groups with visual / hearing impairments.
Methods and structure of the study. We sampled for the survey hearing impaired people (n=80, 45% female sample) aged 26.0±2.92 years on average; visually impaired people (n=21, 52.4% female sample) aged 43.2±14.0 years on average; and a reference group of healthy people (n=142, 54.8% female sample) aged 34.1±12.6 years on average. Weekly physical activity of the hearing impaired people, visually and hearing impaired groups was tested by a Russian version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), with the survey data processed as recommended by the base IPAQ version.

Results and conclusions. The visually impaired men and women were tested with the highest sedentary time on weekends, business days and total sedentary times versus the hearing impaired and healthy groups. The hearing impaired men (F (1.82) = 4.3320, p = 0.0405) and women (F (1.74) = 9.4100, p = 0.0030) are less prone to sedentary behavior than their healthy peers.

The survey found 82% and 80% of the visually impaired female and male subsamples (respectively) physically inactive and reporting 8.4 hours of sedentary time per day on average. Their hearing impaired peers were found moderately (58% and 25%) and virogously active (36% and 40%, respectively), with their sedentary time reported to average 5.7 hours a day. In the healthy subgroup, women were tested more prone to low physical activity (33% and 14%), with men dominating in the vigorous-physical-activity subgroup (25% and 54%, respectively), with the sedentary time averaging 6.9 hours a day.