Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the prevalence of respiratory impairment and dyspnea and their associations with objectively measured physical inactivity and performance-based mobility in sedentary older persons. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders Study. PARTICIPANTS: Community-dwelling older persons (n = 1,635, mean age 78.9) who reported being sedentary (<20 min/wk of regular physical activity and <125 min/wk of moderate physical activity in past month). MEASUREMENTS: Respiratory impairment was defined as low ventilatory capacity (forced expiratory volume in 1 second less than lower limit of normal (LLN)) and respiratory muscle weakness (maximal inspiratory pressure