Activity behavior, nutritional status and perceived health in older Brazilian adults: Does the number of chronic diseases matter?

Abstract

© 2017 Japan Geriatrics Society Aim: The present study examined activity behavior, nutritional status and perceived health in relation to the number of chronic diseases (ChrD) in a representative sample of Brazilians aged ≥60 years. Methods: A cross-sectional, population-based study was carried out in a midsize Brazilian city to evaluate different health risk factors. Using a stratified random sampling procedure to select a representative sample of adults, this study interviewed 1572 individuals face-to-face. Our analytical sample focused on those aged ≥60 years (n = 355). Statistical procedures were carried out using spss software, with the significance level set as P < 0.05. Results: Older adults diagnosed with ≥2 ChrD were significantly less active during leisure time physical activity (P = 0.03), presented with significant higher body mass index values (P < 0.001) and were approximately fivefold (1.69–17.93) more likely to perceive their health as poor compared with those with zero