HEALTH AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN OLDER ADULTS FROM URBAN AND RURAL CONTEXTS: QUANTITATIVE EVIDENCE

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To analyze health perception, prevalence of chronic diseases, and physical activity levels among older adults living in urban and rural areas. METHODS: A cross-sectional, population-based household study was conducted in the urban and rural areas of a city in Southern Brazil. The sample comprised 202 older adults from three urban neighborhoods and 72 from three rural districts, representing different socioeconomic strata. Data collection included sociodemographic characteristics, cognitive screening, health perception, prevalence of chronic diseases, and physical activity level. Normality of continuous variables was assessed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Group comparisons were performed using the two-tailed Student’s t-test for parametric variables and the Mann-Whitney test for non-parametric variables. The chi-square test was applied for categorical variables. RESULTS: Most participants reported a positive perception of their health. A higher prevalence of chronic diseases was observed among rural residents, particularly hypertension and dyslipidemia. Furthermore, lower levels of leisure-time physical activity were identified in this group. CONCLUSION: Older adults living in rural areas exhibited a high prevalence of hypertension and dyslipidemia and were predominantly classified as insufficiently active in leisure-time physical activity.