Effects of Dance Sports on Physiological Variables, Depression and Quality of Life in the Elderly

댄스스포츠가 노인의 생리적 지수, 우울, 삶의 질에 미치는 효과

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of dance sports on physiological variables, depression and quality of life in the elderly. The study was performed on a non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design for 47 elderly, who were conveniently assigned to experimental group and control group. The experimental group were selected from D-welfare facility and the control group were selected from G-elderly church club in G-city. The data were collected from April 2, 2001 to June 30, 2001, and analyzed by frequency, $x^2$-test, t-test and paired t-test using SAS/PC program. The results of this study were summarized as follows; 1. The first hypothesis, "the experimental group would have improved physiological variables than the control group.". 1-1. The hypothesis, "the experimental group would have lower blood pressure than the control group" was rejected. 1-2. The hypothesis, "the experimental group would have lower heart rate than the control group" was supported(t=-2.031, p=0.048). 1-3. The hypothesis, "the experimental group would have higher peripheral vessel $O_2$ Saturation than the control group" was rejected. 2. The second hypothesis, "the experimental group would have lower depression score than the control group" was supported(t=2.832, p=0.006). 3. The third hypothesis, "the experimental group would have higher quality of life score than the control group" was supported(t=2.604, p=0.012). After 12 weeks of dance sports program, it was shown that the program was effective to improve the physiological varibles, reduce depression and improve quality of life.