prevalence of chronic diseases and use of medicines among elders who practice supervised physical activity

Objective: To assess the prevalence of chronic diseases and use of medicines among elders who practice supervised physical activity. Methods: The study was conducted from September to October 2011 with 148 individuals, aged over 60 years, women (N =109) and men (N = 39) who practiced supervised physical activity, divided into Group 1– water aerobics, Group 2 - weight training, and Group 3 - gymnastics / walking. It was used a questionnaire with general questions (gender, age, type of exercise) and closedended questions about health problems and use of medicines. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation), absolute and relative frequency, and Chi-Square test were used for data analysis with a significance level of p <0.05. Results: There was a high prevalence of diseases of the metabolic, endocrine, cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems among women in the three groups. There was a higher prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among men in the three groups. Regarding the use of medicines, all groups presented a higher prevalence of antihypertensive medication use by both genders. Conclusion: There was no significant difference (for both genders) in the prevalence of self-reported chronic diseases affecting organ systems among the groups of elders who practiced physical exercise. There was a high prevalence of elders affected by disorders relating to the musculoskeletalsystem and use of antihypertensive medication. doi:10.5020/18061230.2013.p372