Background: The increase in life expectancy has led to an increase in the prevalence of
chronic diseases and multiple drug use in elderly population. Given the role of regular
physical activity in reducing the risk of a number of diseases, this study aimed to
determine the amount of physical activity and its relationship to medicine use in the
elderly of Amirkola, Babol, Iran.
Methods: This study is a part of the Amirkola Health and Ageing Project (AHAP).
Information on physical activity was collected using the Physical Activity Scale for the
Elderly (PASE) and through interviews with older people. The score of this questionnaire
was rated from 0 to 400 points. Data about the number and kind of drugs were obtained
through interviews and observation of their medications and prescriptions. Then data was
analyzed.
Results: Among 1616 elderly people, 883 cases were male (54.6%) and 733 were female
(45.4%). The average of physical activity of the elderly was 99.01±52.53, which was
100.5±66.3 in men and 111.5±55.1 in women (p<0.001). Average number of drugs used
by elderly population was 1.9±2.4 in men and 3.3±2.7 in women (p<0.001). There was an
inverse and significant correlation between total physical activity and the drug use
(p=0.003, r=-0.075), and the most correlation was with household physical activity
(p<0.001, r =-0.098).
Conclusion: These results indicate low level of physical activity in older people in
Amirkola and also showed that an increase in physical activity may reduce the number of
medicines in the elderly