Prevalence and factors associated with physical inactivity among older adults in Malaysia: A cross‐sectional study

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (S2) ◽  
pp. 49-56
Author(s):  
Ying Ying Chan ◽  
Kuang Kuay Lim ◽  
Mohd Azahadi Omar ◽  
Muhammad Fadhli Mohd Yusoff ◽  
Rajini Sooryanarayana ◽  
...  
2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 447-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
Whye Lian Cheah ◽  
Hazmi Helmy ◽  
Ching Thon Chang

Abstract Rural communities have shown marked increase in metabolic syndrome among young people, with physical inactivity as one of the main contributing factors. This study aimed to determine factors associated with physical inactivity among male and female rural adolescents in a sample of schools in Malaysia. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 145 students aged 13–15 years. Data on socio-demographic, health-related, and psychosocial factors (perceived barriers, self-efficacy, social influences) were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Anthropometric measurement was taken to generate body mass index (BMI)-for-age, while physical activity (PA) level was assessed using pedometers. The mean steps per day was 6251.37 (SD=3085.31) with males reported as being more active. About 27% of the respondents were either overweight or obese, with more females in this group. There was no significant difference in steps among males and females (p=0.212), and nutritional status (BMI-for-age) (p=0.439). Females consistently scored higher in most items under perceived barriers, but had significantly lower scores in self-efficacy’s items. Males were more influenced by peers in terms of PA (p<0.001) and were more satisfied with their body parts (p=0.047). A significantly higher body size discrepancy score was found among females (p=0.034, CI –0.639, –0.026). PA level was low and almost one-third of the respondents were overweight and obese. Female students faced more barriers and had lower self-efficacy with regards PA. Based on the findings, it is recommended that interventions focus on reducing barriers while increasing support for PA. This is particularly important in improving the health status of the youth, especially among the females.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Ting Peng ◽  
Ying-Hsin Hsu ◽  
Ming-Yueh Chou ◽  
Che-sheng Chu ◽  
Chen-San Su ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Insomnia is a common sleep disturbance in older adults and is associated with many poor health outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the relevance of insomnia in older adult outpatients and to analyze differences between genders in factors associated with insomnia.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the outpatient clinics of a tertiary hospital in Southern Taiwan from July to September 2018. A total of 400 consecutive subjects aged 60 years or older were recruited. Insomnia was defined as a score of > 6 points on the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS). Socio-demographics, health behaviors and clinical data were collected by face-to-face interview. Multivariable logistic regression was adopted for statistical analysis of the entire sample and stratified by gender.Results: Participants’ mean age was 74.74 ± 8.54 years, and the majority (93%) had more than one chronic disease. The prevalence of insomnia accounted for 30% (120/400) of all subjects, with males 22.9% (46/201) and females 37.2% (74/199). Gender, appetite, exercise, depressive symptoms, and sleep-related conditions such as short sleep duration, sleeping pills usage, medium-high risk of obstructive sleep apnea(OSA) and restless leg syndrome(RLS) were factors associated with insomnia in older adults. Exercise, sleeping pills usage, and RLS had an independent association with insomnia only in men, while appetite was associated with insomnia in women only.Conclusions: Insomnia is highly prevalent among older adults, predominantly females. Significant differences are found between genders in factors associated with insomnia. Understanding gender differences may help clinicians to modify associated factors when managing older adults with insomnia.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. e0242942
Author(s):  
Uday Narayan Yadav ◽  
Tarka Bahadur Thapa ◽  
Sabuj Kanti Mistry ◽  
Saruna Ghimire ◽  
Krishna Kumar Yadav ◽  
...  

Background The ageing population in most low-and middle-income countries is accompanied by an increased risk of non-communicable diseases culminating in a poor quality of life (QOL). However, the factors accelerating this poor QOL have not been fully examined in Nepal. Therefore, this study examined the factors associated with the QOL of older adults residing in the rural setting of Nepal. Methods Data from a previous cross-sectional study conducted among older adults between January and April 2018 in in rural Nepal was used in this study. The analytical sample included 794 older adults aged ≥60 years, selected by a multi-stage cluster sampling approach. QOL was measured using the Older People’s Quality of Life tool; dichotomized as poor and good QOL. Other measures used included age, gender, ethnicity, religion, marital status, physical activity, and chronic diseases such as osteoarthritis, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and depression. The factors associated with QOL were examined using mixed-effects logistic regression. Results Seven in ten respondents (70.4%) reported a poor QOL. At the bivariate level, increasing age, unemployment, intake of alcohol, lack of physical activity as well as osteoarthritis, COPD and depression were significantly associated with a lower likelihood of a good QOL. The adjusted model showed that older age (AOR = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.28–0.90), the Christian religion (AOR = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.20–0.70), and of an Indigenous (AOR: 0.25; 95% CI: 0.14–0.47), Dalit (AOR: 0.23; 95% CI: 0.10–0.56), and Madheshi (AOR: 0.29; 95% CI: 0.14–0.60) ethnic background were associated with lower odds of good QOL. However, higher income of >NRs 10,000 (AOR = 3.34, 95% CI: 1.43–3.99), daily physical activity (AOR: 3.33; 95% CI: 2.55–4.34), and the absence of osteoarthritis (AOR: 1.9; 95% CI: 1.09–3.49) and depression (AOR: 3.34; 95% CI: 2.14–5.22) were associated with higher odds of good QOL. Conclusion The findings of this study reinforce the need of improving QOL of older adults through implementing programs aimed at addressing the identified biosocial and disease conditions that catalyse poor QOL in this older population residing in rural parts of Nepal.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (9) ◽  
pp. 2375-2381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reshma A. Merchant ◽  
Shumei Germaine Liu ◽  
Jia Yi Lim ◽  
Xiaoxi Fu ◽  
Yiong Huak Chan

Author(s):  
Aldo Shpuza ◽  
Xhesika Xhetani

Introduction: The World Health Organization (WHO) defines physical activity (PA) as any movement of the body produced by skeletal muscle that requires expenditure of energy. The aim of research is to assess the prevalence of and socio-demographic characteristics associated with physical inactivity (PI) among adult primary healthcare (PHC) users in Tirana, the capital of Albania.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried out in Tirana from November 2020 to January 2021. During this period 500 consecutively approached individuals aged ≥18 years exiting PHC centers were interviewed face-to-face about the presence of some of the risk factors for non-communicable disease. A structured WHO STEPS questionnaire, an integrated part of which is the instrument required for this study, “Global PA Questionnaire,” was used. In addition to demographic and socioeconomic data, we obtained data on the performance of PA in terms of domains, duration, and intensity. Logistic regression was used to assess socio-demographic factors associated with PI.Results: Prevalence of PI in the study population was 31.6%. Following multivariable adjustment for all covariates, significant positive correlates of PI were female gender, rural residence, retiree status, and unemployment. Conversely, there was an inverse association with moderate level of education.Conclusions: Similar to that of other European populations, the population of Tirana has a high rate of PI showing an upward tendency. The population groups at the highest risk of PI who may be targeted for intervention programs to address this risk factor are women, rural residents, unemployed persons, and retirees.


2021 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernanda Maria Vieira Pereira-Ávila ◽  
Simon Ching Lam ◽  
Maithê de Carvalho e Lemos Goulart ◽  
Fernanda Garcia Bezerra Góes ◽  
Natália Maria Vieira Pereira-Caldeira ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Objective: to identify factors associated with depressive symptoms among older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: a cross-sectional study developed in all regions of Brazil, using an electronic form among older adults aged 60 or over. Data were collected from April 17 to May 15, 2020. Measures of central tendency and dispersion were used. For comparison of means, Student’s t-test and analysis of variance were applied, considering p≤0.05. For association of factors, chi-square was adopted with bivariate analyzes and logistic regression. Results: nine hundred (100.0%) older adults participated in the study. The general score for symptoms of depression was 3.8 (SD=4.4), 818 (91.9%) had no or mild depressive symptoms. Women (p <0.01) have more symptoms than men. The income variable is a predictor of depressive symptoms (OR=0.56; CI: 0.34-0.91; p=0.020). Conclusion: the main factors associated with symptoms of depression were sex, income, education and occupations that expose them to COVID-19 had the highest depression scores.


Author(s):  
Maycon Sousa Pegorari ◽  
Caroline de Fátima Ribeiro Silva ◽  
Fabrícia Coelho de Araújo ◽  
Juliana de Souza da Silva ◽  
Daniela Gonçalves Ohara ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 793-813 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grace Angélica de Oliveira Gomes ◽  
Bruna Moretti Luchesi ◽  
Aline Cristina Martins Gratão ◽  
Fabiana de Souza Orlandi ◽  
Karina Gramani Say ◽  
...  

Objective: The aim of this study is to analyze the prevalence of physical inactivity (PI) and associated factors in older caregivers of older adults. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted including 312 older caregivers. Sociodemographic, clinical, and care-related characteristics were considered the independent variables for the determination of associated factors with PI in the logistic regression model. Results: The prevalence of PI was 75.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] = [70.1%, 80.0%]). The following factors were associated with PI: being female (odds ratio [OR] = 2.8, 95% CI = [1.3, 5.9]), being older than 75 years of age (OR = 7.1, 95% CI = [2.2, 22.9]), not having a marital life (OR = 4.2, 95% CI = [1.1, 15.8]), being prefrail (OR = 6.2, 95% CI = [1.7, 21.9]), and being frail (OR = 14.8, 95% CI = [3.8, 57.7]). Discussion: The prevalence of PI was high and associated with the female sex, an advanced age, and not being married. Specific public policies considering these results should be created for older caregivers.


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