ASSOCIATION BETWEEN POLYPHARMACY, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND SEDENTARY TIME IN COMMUNITY-DWELLING OLDER ADULTS
Keywords: Multiple medication; Exercise; Sitting; Chronic diseases; Aging.
Objective: To investigate the association between polypharmacy, physical activity and sedentary time in community-dwelling older adults. Methods: Cross-sectional study involving youngest-old adults (60-80 years old) without cardiovascular diseases and impaired mobility residing in Natal-RN. Polypharmacy was defined as the use of five daily medications. The analyses included 453 participants with self-reported measures of physical activity and sedentary time, and 258 participants with accelerometer-based measures. Linear regressions were used for data analyses. Results: The prevalence of polypharmacy was 13%. In self-reported measures, polypharmacy was not associated with sedentary time (β = -0.8 h/d, CI 95% -1.7, 0.1; p = 0.094), light physical activity (β = -0.1 h/d, IC 95% -0.4, 0.2; p = 0.407), moderate-vigorous physical activity (β = 55.7 h/d, CI 95%, -269.8; 375.1; p = 0,748). Similarly, accelerometer-measured sedentary time (β = -0.3 h/d, CI 95%,-0.8, 0.3; p = 0.338), light physical activity (β =0,3 h/d, IC 95%,-0,3, 0,8; p = 0,348), moderate-vigorous physical activity ((β = 6.5 h/d, IC 95%, -49.1, 62.1; p = 0.817), number of daily steps (β = 377.5 steps/days, CI 95%, -606,7, 1361.8; p = 0.451), and 30-minute peak step cadence (β =3.6 step/minutes, CI 95%,-4,1; 11,3; p = 0,355) were not associated with polypharmacy. Conclusions: In youngest-old adults without cardiovascular diseases and impaired mobility, our data suggest that polypharmacy is not associated with lower physical activity and higher sedentary time.