Association between frailty and the combination of physical activity level and sedentary behavior in older adults.

BACKGROUND: The combined association of physical activity and sedentary behavior with adverse health factors is not yet clear in the literature. A combined analysis of physical activity level and sedentary behavior may provide evidence of the interrelation between these behavioral variables and the frailty syndrome. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the relationship between physical activity level, sedentary behavior and frailty in older adults. METHODS: In this study, we evaluated 457 older adults (age range = 60 to 96 years old) from the Longitudinal Study of the Elderly Health of Alcobaça, Bahia. The frailty condition was defined by the presence of three or more of the following criteria: unintentional weight loss, slow walking speed measured over a 4.57 m test, a reduction of manual grip strength and exhaustion. Based upon these criteria, participants were classified as non-frail or frail. Physical activity level and time spent in sedentary behavior were assessed with the International Questionnaire of Physical Activity. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the sample. To examine the combined association of physical activity and sedentary behavior with frailty, chi-square and Poisson regression tests were used. Statistical significance was defined as p ≤ 0.05. RESULTS: The prevalence of frailty was 8.8% (n = 40), with higher prevalence observed with increasing age. Low physical activity level combined with excessive time spent in sedentary behavior (physical activity level < 150 min/wk. and sedentary behavior ≥540 min/day) was associated with frailty, resulting in a prevalence ratio of 2.83 (95% CI, 1.23 to 6.52). CONCLUSION: Frailty is more prevalent among older adults who exhibit insufficient levels of physical activity combined with a great amount of time spent in sedentary behavior, even when adjusted for sociodemographic factors.

[Prevalence and factors associated with negative health perception by the Brazilian elderly]. / Prevalência e fatores associados à percepção negativa da saúde em pessoas idosas no Brasil.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the factors associated with negative health perception in older Brazilians. METHODS: Population study of a cross-sectional sample, conducted in 2009 in three cities of Brazil. The stratified simple random sample consisted of 909 adults between 60 and 91 years of age. A gross and multivariate analysis by estimated prevalence rate (PR) using Poisson regression with calculation of adjusted prevalence ratios, p < 0.05 was performed to identify factors associated with negative perception of health (NPH). RESULTS: The prevalence of NPH was 49.6%. After the multivariate association, a certain association for men with older age PR = 1.03 (Cl = 1.01 to 1.06), risk of malnutrition PR = 1.66 (CI = 1.13 to 2.43) and disability PR = 1.79 (CI = 1.21 to 1.77) was observed. For women, the association was with taking more than two medications PR = 1.41 (CI = 1.13 to 2.52), hypertension PR = 1.52 (CI = 1.43 to 1.97) and functional disability PR = 1.36 (CI = 1.13 to 1.86). CONCLUSIONS: Nearly half of the elderly have NHP, therefore preventive actions that decrease drug use and encourage behaviors toward better nutritional conditions should be tied to public policies in order to promote the functional independence and well-being of the elderly.

Prevalence of common mental disorders among the residents of urban areas in Feira de Santana, Bahia.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence of common mental disorders according to sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle and medical conditions among residents of urban areas of Feira de Santana, Bahia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out, including a random sample of the urban population over the age of 15 years of Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brazil. We used a form to attain information on sociodemographic factors, lifestyle and disease frequency. The SRQ-20 was used to measure common mental disorders (CMD). Statistical analysis adopted the p< 0.05 significance level; prevalence ratios and respective 95% confidence intervals were calculated. RESULTS: We studied 3,597 individuals, 71.4% female. The global prevalence of CMD was 29.9%. Data analysis revealed that sociodemographic characteristics (sex, education, income), lifestyle and clinical conditions were associated with the prevalence of CMD. CONCLUSION: The study allowed us to estimate the prevalence of CMD among the urban population of a municipality located in Northeastern Brazil and to identify the characteristics associated with CMD prevalence that may interfere with mental health. In this sense, municipal healthcare policies should include actions aimed to encourage participation in leisure activities as well as campaigns to control smoking and chronic diseases.