journal articles
FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH BEING INSUFFICIENTLY PHYSICALLY ACTIVE AMONG THE OLDEST OLD PARTICIPATING IN COMMUNITY GROUPS
R.R. Krug, C. Sacomori, M.A. Lopes, M. Marchesan, G.Z. Mazo
J Aging Res Clin Practice 2013;2(4):334-338
Introduction: The oldest old are the group with lowest physical activity levels, and many factors can contribute to this. Objective: To analyze which socio-demographic and health related factors are associated with being insufficiently physically active among adults aged 80 years and older participating in community groups. Methods: This research was characterized as cross-sectional descriptive epidemiological research. The study was carried out with 351 “oldest old” participants of 102 community groups for elderly registered in the City Hall of Florianópolis in the state of Santa Catarina. The instruments used were a Fact Sheet to assess socio-demographic and health related characteristics and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Descriptive statistics and Multivariate Hierarchical Poisson regression analysis were used adopting a 95% confidence interval. Results: The prevalence of very active oldest old participating in community groups was 45.86%. After adjusted analysis the factors associated with being insufficiently physically active among the oldest old participating in community groups were: higher age strata, lower education level, lower income and worse perceived health status. Conclusion: Physically inactive elderly who show such characteristics should be encouraged to do adequate physical exercise to prevent and reduce the risk of disabilities and diseases caused by the aging process.