Factors associated with high exposure to sedentary behavior in older adults: analysis of data from the National Health Survey, 2019

Abstract

Objective To analyze the factors associated with sedentary behavior in older adults. Method A cross-sectional study of data from the 2019 National Health Survey involving 22,728 older Brazilian adults was conducted. The outcome was sedentary behavior and the exposures included sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle, household characteristics and chronic diseases. Multiple logistic regression was used. with a significance level of 5%. Results The prevalence of sedentary behavior was 32.8% (95%CI: 31.8-33.8) There was a greater chance for the outcome in individuals that were female (OR=1.20; 95%CI: 1.08-1.34); aged 70-79 years (OR= 1.22; 95%CI: 1.09-1.36); aged ≥80 years (OR=1.18; 95% CI: 1.02-1, 36); had no partner (OR= 1.27; 95%CI: 1.14-1.41); were diabetic (OR =1.17; 95%CI: 1.06-1.30), had systemic arterial hypertension (OR =1.34; 95%CI: 1.18-1.51). previous stroke (OR = 1.61; 95%CI: 1.32-1.96), and no place to perform physical activity close to home (OR=1.16; 95%CI: 1.05-1.29). Older adults with low education (OR= 0.71; 95%CI: 0.61-0.82), and that resided in rural areas (OR=0.53; 95%CI: 0.47-0.61) were less likely to be sedentary. Conclusion Individuals that were female, older(ager > 70 years), had diabetes, hypertension, previous stroke, and no place to perform physical activity close to home, were associated with high exposure to sedentary behavior. Living in rural areas and having less education were inversely associated with this risk behavior.

What is the burden of multimorbidity and the factors associated with its occurrence in elderly Brazilians?

“…Sedentary behavior, measured by screen use for 3 or more hours a day, can be associated with higher prevalences of two or more chronic health conditions. Research shows that the lack of locations for physical activity near residences can increase the likelihood of sedentary behavior in elderly people (34) .…”

“…In this sense, public health promotion policies for the elderly should consider the use of locations near residences that encourage the practice of physical activities. Health professionals should encourage elderly individuals to interrupt long periods of sitting, alternating them with standing positions, as an alternative to reduce the impact of spending a lot of time in activities with low caloric expenditure, which are associated with type II diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, obesity, multimorbidity, and mortality from all causes (34)(35)(36) .…”