Physical inactivity and associated factors among the elderly in a southern city of Brazil: a cross-sectional study

Introduction and objective: The present study aimed to evaluate the level of physical inactivity and associated factors among the elderly. Material and methods: This cross-sectional, home based, study was conducted with 282 elderly aged >= 60 years old in the city of VeranOpolis-RS. Clinical examination and a structured questionnaire were applied. Physical activity was evaluated by the short-version of the IPAQ (International Physical Activity Questionnaire). Associations were evaluated by the chi-square or Mann-Whitney test, presented by frequency distributions. Uniand multivariate analyses were performed, applying Poisson regression with robust variance in order to verify the association between the outcome and the independent variables. Results: The prevalence of physical inactivity among the elderly was 50.4%. In the multivariate analysis, higher age and quantity of self-reported health problems were associated with physical inactivity. Elderly aged >= 70 years presented 60% higher prevalence ratio (PR) of being inactive [1.602 (95% confidence interval - 95`)/OCI: 1.224 - 2.096)] when compared to those aged <70 years. Elderly that reported to have 3 or >= 4 different health problems showed, respectively, 270% (p=0.029) and 260% (p=0.040) higher PR of being inactive, in comparison to elderly without health problems. Discussion: Strategies to stimulate physical activity must be strengthened, among the elderly, especially in those with several health problems. Conclusion: It was detected a high prevalence of physical inactivity among the elderly, which was associated with age and quantity of health problems.