Clinical trial NCT04307589: The Impact of Grandchild Care on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in People Aged 50 Years and Over
Official title: Healthy Grandparenting: The Impact of Non-residential Grandchild Care on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in People Aged 50 Years and Over
Study type: OBSERVATIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Conditions: Adults Aged 50 Years and Older
Keywords: grandparents
grandchildren
caregiving
physical activity
sedentary behavior
body composition
quality of life
prospective cohort study
Lead sponsor: Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Research Foundation Flanders
name: University Ghent
First posted: 2020-03-13
Enrollment: 255
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 50
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Observational model: OTHER
Time perspective: PROSPECTIVE
Sampling method: NON_PROBABILITY_SAMPLE
Study population: People aged 50 years and over with and without grandchildren.

Brief summary: Given the widespread provision of grandparental child care, examining its impact on grandparents' energy-expenditure related behaviors in the broader context of health is imperative. The maintenance of functional independence and good quality of life is critical at a more advanced age. It has been put forward that an increased duration, frequency and intensity of physical activity (PA) combined with a restriction of sedentary behavior (SB) is the most important strategy to reduce morbidity risk and to foster health in an aging population. The present study aims to fill a gap in current knowledge on (changes in) caregiving grandparents' PA levels and SB patterns. An observational follow-up study will be conducted to examine and compare both energy-expenditure related behaviors linked to body composition and health-related quality of life among caregiving grandparents, non-caregiving grandparents and non-grandparent peers, both momentarily and over time. This fundamental research aims to provide scientific evidence contributing to the promotion of healthy grandparenting in people on the threshold of old age in modern society.

Detailed description: The first objective of the study is to provide a detailed overview of habitual levels of physical activity and sedentary behavior among caregiving grandparents in relation to their body composition and health-related quality of life (including both physical and mental function), and to identify to what extent these outcome measures are associated with the number, sex and age of the grandchild(ren) as well as with the intensity of grandparents' provision of child care, while taking some demographic characteristics of the grandparent (i.e., age, sex, marital status, socio-economic status (SES)) into account.

The second objective is to compare caregiving grandparents' energy-expenditure related behaviors (i.e., physical activity and sedentary behavior) and their link with health-related measures of interest (i.e., body composition and quality of life) with both non-caregiving grandparents and non-grandparent peers as relevant control groups.

The third objective is to investigate (age-related) changes in physical activity and sedentary behavior linked to body composition and health-related quality of life among caregiving grandparents versus non-caregiving grandparents as well as non-grandparents both in the short and the longer term, and to identify possible predictors of these changes over time. Additionally, it is the intention to examine the impact of middle-aged and older adults making the transition to (caregiving) grandparenthood on both energy-expenditure related behaviors as well as the health-related measures of interest.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Being ≥50 years of age
* Speaking the Dutch language
* Being able to perform independent locomotion (e.g. not relying on a walking aid or wheelchair, etc.)
* Not suffering from a known cognitive impairment affecting one's memory, attention or understanding (e.g. dementia, brain injury, etc.)
* Not living in a residential care center for elderly people

Exclusion Criteria:

* Being \<50 years of age
* Not speaking the Dutch language
* Not being able to perform independent locomotion (e.g. relying on a walking aid or wheelchair, etc.)
* Suffering from a known cognitive impairment affecting one's memory, attention or understanding (e.g. dementia, brain injury, etc.)
* Living in a residential care center for elderly people

Primary outcomes:
measure: Change in physical activity
timeFrame: At baseline (T0), at 12 months (T1), at 24 months (T2)
measure: Change in sedentary behavior
timeFrame: At baseline (T0), at 12 months (T1), at 24 months (T2)
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Change in body dimensions
timeFrame: At baseline (T0), at 12 months (T1), at 2 year months (T2)
measure: Change in body composition
timeFrame: At baseline (T0), at 12 months (T1), at 2 year months (T2)
measure: Change in quality of life: self-reported questionnaire
timeFrame: At baseline (T0), at 12 months (T1), at 24 months (T2)
Other outcomes:
measure: Intensity of non-residential grandchild care
timeFrame: At baseline (T0), at 12 months (T1), at 24 months (T2)
measure: Socio-demographic characteristics
timeFrame: At baseline (T0), at 12 months (T1), at 24 months (T2)
Locations:
city: Brussel
country: Belgium
facility: Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Study officials:
References: