Quality of life based on level of physical activity among elderly residents of urban and rural areas

Abstract

Objective: To analyze quality of life (QOL) according to level of physical activity among elderly persons living in rural (RA) and urban (UA) areas. Method: A descriptive crosssectional study, analyzing 358 elderly residents of RA and 139 of UA, in the municipal region of Palmas, Paraná, Brazil was performed. Quality of life, level of physical activity and economic condition were evaluated. For the analysis of the continuous variables, the student's t-test or the Mann-Whitney test were used, based on the normality or otherwise of the data. Pearson's chi-squared or Fischer's exact test were used to analyze the categorical variables. Results: The general perception of QOL reported in RA was better than in UA ( p<0.05). The analysis of the level of physical activity according to place of residence showed that the elderly are more physically active in RA ( p<0.05), whereas insufficiently active or sedentary subjects prevail in UA. The variables age and gender were not associated with QOL ( p>0.05), irrespective of place of residence, and active elderly persons had better QOL scores than insufficiently active or sedentary individuals, again irrespective of place of residence ( p<0.05). Conclusion: The present study provides evidence that QOL is positively influenced by both maintaining satisfactory levels of physical activity and by residing in RA. It is important to establish public policies aimed at ensuring a more active and independent old age, thus generating greater health and quality of life.

Quality of life and its association with psychiatric symptoms and socio-demographic characteristics among people with schizophrenia: A hospital-based cross-sectional study

“…This study result showed that being rural resident was associated inversely with physical health domain (β = −0.48, p = 0.01), with environmental domain (β = −0.64, p = 0.03), with social relationships domain (β = −0.45, p = 0.04), and with overall quality of life (β = −1.93, p = 0.006) of people with schizophrenia and this result was inline to the previous populationbased study in Brazil [31]. This could be justified by different possibilities like individuals are more physically active in a rural area, whereas insufficiently active or sedentary subjects prevail in urban areas [32]. It has also been shown that social networks in urban environments are smaller than in rural areas and that the most significant aspects were frequent contact with relatives, identity with environment and the feeling of belonging to a social group, as the rural people live mostly in settlements or communities, indirect and daily contact with their relatives [33].…”

Quality of life of participants and non-participants of public physical exercise programs

“…Soon after an evaluation of cognitive state was performed using the MMSE 21 . Then the level of physical activity of the elderly was verified using the short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), validated for the Brazilian population 22 , classifying them as insufficiently active or sedentary (IAS) and active 13 .…”

“…Several studies have recently been carried out to understand the factors that can influence the quality of life of the elderly [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] . Previous studies have demonstrated that a physically active lifestyle and the regular performance of physical exercise are associated with various domains of quality of life, suggesting that the promotion of such activities can have a satisfactory impact on the functional capacity, mental health and quality of life of the elderly 9,16,17 .…”

Pessoas Idosas em Cidades Rurais: Estilo de Vida e Vulnerabilidades às IST`S/Aids

“…Tendo em vista a promoção de um envelhecimento bem-sucedido, a vivência regular de atividades de lazer é fundamental para o processo de envelhecimento ativo, uma vez que favorece a manutenção das relações sociais, diminui o isolamento e promove a qualidade de vida. Já a prática de atividade física melhora o funcionamento físico, colaborando com os sistemas respiratório, cardíaco, circulatórios, bem como proporciona redução do estresse e promove saúde mental (Ribeiro, Ferretti, & Sá, 2017).…”