Nível de atividade física e fatores associados em idosos da comunidade de um município do interior do RS

Abstract

Care throughout life is essential for successful aging. The practice of physical activity is one of the modifiable factors capable of ensuring benefits to aging, especially with regard to the prevention of Non-Communicable Chronic Diseases (NCDs). However, various barriers are encountered for adherence to this habit, among them: education, age, presence of NCDs and place of residence. In Brazil, according to data from the Ministry of Health, 54.7% of deaths recorded in the country were caused by NCDs, totaling, in 2019, a total of 1.8 million hospitalizations in the Unified Health System (SUS) and 8.8 billion reais in hospitalization expenses. The objective of this dissertation was to evaluate the level of physical activity (PA) and associated factors in elderly people from the community of a municipality in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul. This is a cross-sectional, census-based study, approved by the Research Ethics Committee under opinion number 4.586.122. The sample consisted of 519 elderly people aged 60 or older, living in the municipality of Coxilha, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The data were collected at home through a standardized and pre-coded questionnaire, applied by undergraduate and graduate students previously trained. For the analysis, the outcome, level of PA, was considered, which was evaluated through the application of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), adapted for the elderly population. The independent variables were: age, gender, place of residence, marital status, education, work in rural areas, presence of NCDs. The data were entered and analyzed in statistical software. The qualitative variables were presented in univariate frequency distributions (absolute and relative). The bivariate analysis was performed using the chi-square test and Fisher's exact test. For Poisson regression, all variables with a p-value ≤0,020 in bivariate analysis were included in the model, and the prevalence ratio (PR) and respective 95% confidence interval were calculated. The prevalence of physically active elderly people was 68,1%. 80,5% of the elderly had some NCD, with arterial hypertension being the most prevalent (62,5%). In bivariate analysis, the highest prevalence of 150 minutes or more of moderate and vigorous physical activity was associated with younger age groups (60 to 79 years old), rural residence, higher education (12 or more years of study) and not having NCD. In multivariate analysis, the highest prevalence of physical activity remained associated with younger age groups (60 to 79 years old), living in rural areas, and not having any NCD. The results of this study provide greater understanding of the factors associated with PA, providing health service providers with guidance on promoting health in the elderly.