Prevalence and the Determinants of Physical Activity in an Elderly Cohort of 60 years and more. A Cross-Sectional Case-Control Study

In the elderly, decline in physical activity (PA) is associated with decreased quality of life. To determine the prevalence and the associated factors of low PA in the elderly. All participants of the Amirkola town aged >= 60 years were studied. Data were collected for demographics, clinical and biochemical parametes. PA was determined by using physical activity scale for the elderly (PASE) questionnaire. In statistical analysis the study population was classified as normal or low PA defined as PASE score < 100. The two groups were compared according to demographic, clinical and biochemical characteristics using chi square test with calculation of odds ratio (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence interval (95% CI). A total of 1297 individuals with respective mean age of 70.15 +/- 7.1 and 67.6 +/- 6.8 years for low and normal group (p = 0.001) were studied. Low PA was observed in 612 patients (47.1%). Prevalence of low PA was negatively associated with, higher level of education (OR = 0.64, 95% CI, 0.51-0.80, p = 0.001), higher arm muscle strength (OR = 0.77, 95% CI, 0.62-0.96, p = 0.02), but positively associated with male sex (OR =1.56, 95% CI, 1.25-1.94), hypertension (OR = 1.34, 95% CI, 1.1-1.73), disequilibrium (OR = 2.2, 95% CI, 1.74-2.9) and age. Compared with age group at 60-64 years, prevalence of low PA increased by OR = 1.74 (95% CI, 1.25-2.34) in age group 70-74 years, by OR = 2.51 (95% CI, 1.52-4.15) at age group 80-84 years, and OR = 7.74 (95% CI, 3.17-18.89) in those aged >= 85 years old. The findings of this study indicate that age, male sex, hypertension and disequilibrium are positively associated with low PA whereas female sex, muscle strength and education level are protective against low PA.