Physical activity, sedentary behavior and dynapenia: A cross- sectional study

Abstract

Introduction: Population aging is a global phenomenon that brings with it significant challenges for public health, among which dynapenia, defined as the reduction of muscle strength associated with age, stands out. Objective: To analyze the association between the combination of physical activity level and sedentary behavior in elderly people with and without partial and total dynapenia. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study, carried out with individuals aged ≥ 60 years of both sexes. The diagnosis of dynapenia was made through handgrip strength (partial dynapenia HGS) and the sit-to-stand test (partial dynapenia STS). The level of physical activity and sedentary behavior were assessed by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Results: A total of 249 elderly people participated in the study, of which 19.7% had prevalence of partial dynapenia HGS, 16.9% had partial dynapenia STS and 8% had total dynapenia. It was observed that 23.7% were insufficiently active and 20.8% presented high sedentary behavior. Total dynapenia was associated with the combination of low level of physical activity with high sedentary behavior (OR = 5.92; 95% CI: 1.30-26.94; p = 0.022), indicating that elderly individuals with this combination were approximately six times more likely to present total dynapenia. Regarding partial dynapenia, no significant associations were found between low level of physical activity and high sedentary behavior (p > 0.05). Conclusion: The combination of low level of physical activity with high sedentary behavior was associated with total dynapenia, evidencing the importance of the interaction between these two behaviors for the simultaneous reduction of muscle strength in the upper and lower limbs.