Transition and factors associated with the level of physical activity combined with sedentary behavior of the elderly: A longitudinal study

Abstract

Introduction: Physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) are emerging issues in public health, especially in developing countries. Objective: to verify transition and factors related to PA combined with SB among the elderly followed for 24 months. Materials and methods: A longitudinal, observational research, with people aged 60 years or over, living in the urban area of Uberaba, Brazil. Sociodemographic, health and physical tests data were collected in 2014 and 2016, using the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Katz Index, Lawton and Brody Scale, Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) and The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). For the combined evaluation one considered the cutoff point of 150 minutes of PA per week and the percentile 75 (420 minutes/day) for SB, constituting the groups: Unsatisfactory (insufficient sum of PA and SB), Intermediate (with loss of only one of the two components) and Satisfactory (sufficient sum of PA and SB). Statistic descriptive and inferential analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 21.0, considering p<0.05. Results: Of the 374 elderly, 61 (16.3%) improved their PA and SB condition, 226 (60.4%) remained in the same category and 87 (23.3%) got worse. Unsatisfactory levels of PA and SB were related to higher age group (p=0.031), absence of professional activity (p<0.001), dependence for instrumental activities of daily living (p=0.013) and worse physical performance (p<0.001). Conclusion: Results showed relationship between sociodemographic and health factors with PA and SB, reiterating the need for further research on the subject to the health of the aged.