Fatores associados à longevidade em idosos praticantes de exercícios físicos: um estudo descritivo / Factors associated with longevity in older people praticing physical exercise: a descriptive study
277 elderly participated in this study description. The data collected were sex, number and presence of diseases, occurrence of falls, Body Mass Index, handgrip strength and the components of physical fitness (Senior Fitness Test). In data analysis, we used Mann-Whitney and Chi Square tests. Variables with p < 0.2 were included in the logistic regression model. We adopted p ≤ 0,05.
Results:
7.6% (n = 21) of respondents were considered the oldest old. The regression analysis showed that being male (OR = 11.9), does not have heart disease (OR = 7.6) and have good flexibility of upper limbs (OR = 6.2) increases the chance of reaching 80 years while having reduced handgrip strength decreases such chance (OR = 0.8).
Conclusion:
The knowledge of these associated factors allows to understand what factors influence the achievement of longevity in old people practitioners of physical exercises. Thus, improved flexibility and handgrip strength may reflect increased survival for these seniors. (AU)