ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SITTING TIME AND MAJOR DISEASES IN BRAZILIAN OCTOGENARIANS

Abstract

The aim of this study was to associate sitting time with major diseases affecting octogenarians. This observational cross-sectional study involved 351 octogenarians, being 323 women and 28 men, with a mean age of 84.1 (SD = 3.9). Sociodemographic data, health conditions and responses to Section 5 of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) were entered into a diagnostic program in order to determine the weekly time spent sitting down. Descriptive (single frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (Mann-Whitney U test and binary logistic regression) were used. The data were examined at a 5% significance level. The most frequent diseases in the octogenarians were high blood pressure (60.1%), heart diseases (26.5%), diabetes (21.9%), dyslipidemia (21.7%), osteoporosis (18.5%), and osteoarthritis (14.5%). The longer they spent sitting down, the greater the risk of developing diabetes (OR = 4.5, 95% CI 2.5 to 8.2) and dyslipidemia (OR = 2.9, 95% CI 1.6 to 5.0). A sitting time of more than 1,710 minutes per week can predict the occurrence of diabetes (p = 0.002), while sitting for more than 1,380 minutes per week can predict the occurrence of dyslipidemia (p = 0.002). Sitting time was found to be a risk factor for the occurrence of diabetes and dyslipidemia in the studied octogenarians. Chronic diseases were associated with sedentary behavior.