Abstract
This study proposed to evaluate the level of physical activity and the cognitive state of elderly users of Primary Care Facilities (UBS) of the Municipality of Maringá, State of Paraná, Brazil. This is a descriptive, cross-sectional, epidemiological study with 654 elderly men and women UBS users. A sociodemographic questionnaire, the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) were employed. Data was analyzed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Chi-square, Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney "U" tests, with a significance level of p<0.05. However, they evidenced a high score in temporal orientation (Md = 5.0), spatial orientation (Md = 5.0), immediate memory (Md = 3.0), recall (Md = 3.0) and language (Md = 8.0). When comparing the mental state according to the level of physical activity of the elderly, we observed that very active/active individuals had better attention and calculation (p = 0.036), recall (p = 0.001) and general cognitive status (p = 0.002) against irregularly active and sedentary elderly. Adequate levels of physical activity may be related to better scores of cognitive functions of elderly subjects.
Highlights
MethodsThe aging process is accompanied by various modifications, such as changes in bodily composition, lower muscle strength, flexibility, functional capacity, all associated with a decline of physical activities and cognitive performance in the elderly population[1,2,3,4]
This study proposed to evaluate the level of physical activity and the cognitive state of elderly users of Primary Care Facilities (UBS) of the Municipality of Maringá, State of Paraná, Brazil
When comparing the mental state according to the level of physical activity of the elderly, we observed that very active/ active individuals had better attention and calculation (p = 0.036), recall (p = 0.001) and general cognitive status (p = 0.002) against irregularly active and sedentary elderly
Summary
The aging process is accompanied by various modifications, such as changes in bodily composition (reduced muscle mass and increased body fat), lower muscle strength, flexibility, functional capacity, all associated with a decline of physical activities and cognitive performance in the elderly population[1,2,3,4]. This adverse situation observed in aging can lead to possible complications such as physical disability, development of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, multimorbidities or frailty syndrome[4,5,6]. The regular practice of physical exercise develops positive changes, triggering angiogenesis and increased cerebral blood flow, synaptogenesis and neurogenesis[10]
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