Physical activity level among older adultsover 70 years old and very old adults

Abstract Introduction: Physical activity (PA) is an effective strategy to ensure good health in older adults and mitigate the harmful effects of aging. Objective: To compare PA levels in people aged between 70 and 79 years and very old adults. Method: Quantitative, observational, descriptive cross-sectional study, with 343 individuals aged 70 years or older from a medium-sized municipality in western Santa Catarina state (SC). Data were collected using the MMSE, the Morais’ Questionnaire, and the IPAQ-SF. Data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test, X² and Spearman’s correlation. Significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: The average physical activity level among 70 to 79-year-olds was 168.55 (± 146.81) minutes a week and 93.91 (± 122.66) in very old adults. IPAQ classification indicated that a higher percentage of very old adults were sedentary (79.5%), while 67.8% of 70 to 79-year-olds were categorized as active/very active. There was a statistically significant correlation between physical activity level, number of self-reported chronic diseases and number of medications. Conclusion: Older adults between 70 and 79 years old are more active than very old adults; older women are more active than their male counterparts; the increase in the number of chronic diseases and medications taken lowers physical activity level.

**摘要与引言**：体力活动（Physical Activity，PA）是保障老年人群身体健康、缓解衰老带来的不良影响的有效手段。
**研究目的**：本研究旨在对比70至79岁人群与高龄老年人的体力活动水平差异。
**研究方法**：本研究为定量、观察性描述横断面研究，共纳入圣卡塔琳娜州西部中型城市的343名70岁及以上老年人。研究采用简易精神状态检查表（MMSE）、莫赖斯问卷（Morais’ Questionnaire）与国际体力活动问卷短卷（IPAQ-SF）收集数据；采用曼-惠特尼U检验（Mann-Whitney U test）、卡方检验（χ²）与斯皮尔曼相关分析进行数据统计，显著性水平设定为p<0.05。
**研究结果**：70至79岁人群的周平均体力活动水平为168.55（±146.81）分钟，高龄老年人为93.91（±122.66）分钟。IPAQ分类结果显示，高龄老年人中久坐人群占比更高（79.5%），而70至79岁人群中有67.8%被归类为活动充足/高度活动人群。体力活动水平与自我报告的慢性疾病数量、服用药物数量均存在统计学显著性相关。
**研究结论**：70至79岁老年人的体力活动水平高于高龄老年人；老年女性的体力活动水平高于同龄男性；慢性疾病数量与服用药物数量的增加会降低老年人的体力活动水平。