Level of routine physical activity and common mental disorders among elderly living in rural areas

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the association between the level of habitual physical activity and common mental disorders among elderly. METHODS: Cross-sectional study of 95 elderly people living in the rural area of Jequie city, state of Bahia, Brazil. A form with demographic information, screening for common mental disorders (CMD) with the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20) and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) were used. RESULTS: Most elderly were between 60 and 79 years old (75.8%), female (57.9%). The percentage of non-sedentary was 64.2%, with statistically significant association between the level of physical activity and age, marital status and education. The overall prevalence of CMD was 47.4%; only income had statistically significant association. To assess the association between physical activity and CMD, no association was found at statistically significant levels (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Despite evidence from the literature on the contribution of physical activity for mental health, no association was observed between physical activity and CMD.