NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Older adults who find it difficult to walk without assistance may see their overall quality of life suffers, a study has found.

Researchers found that older men and women with impaired mobility -- including slowed movement and problems with balance and strength -- had a poorer health-related quality of life than a comparison group of adults the same age without these problems.

Health-related quality of life refers to a person's perception of how his or her health affects daily life. In this study, mobility problems had a greater impact on quality of life than even major medical conditions, such as heart disease, colitis and diabetes.

The findings underscore the importance of treating and preventing impaired mobility in older adults, the researchers report in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

The study included 424 adults in their 70s and 80s considered to be at risk of disability because they had difficulty walking independently. They completed tests of their physical functioning and questionnaires on their overall health and health-related quality of life.

The quality-of-life questionnaire assessed, among other things, the ability to perform routine day-to-day tasks and to be active socially, said lead author Dr. Erik J. Groessl of the VA San Diego Healthcare System.

Overall, he and his colleagues found that the study participants reported a poorer quality of life compared with a sample of healthy older adults from a previous study.

It's not surprising that mobility problems would have such an effect, according to Groessl. But what's "interesting," he told Reuters Health, is that mobility was a more significant determinant of quality of life than co-existing medical conditions.

This suggests that it may help to focus on older adults' physical limitations rather than just the specific diseases they may have, according to Groessl.

Previous studies have found that a sedentary lifestyle puts older people at risk of impaired mobility. Some colleagues, Groessl said, are now studying whether exercise programs can help prevent or improve these limitations.