Sono, hábitos alimentares e nível de atividade física em idosos de um município de Minas Gerais

Abstract

Population aging is a worldwide phenomenon and all reveals marked changes in sleep patterns during aging. Changes in eating habits and level of physical activity (PA) are also present in this period. Thus, the aim of this research was to evaluate the association between sleep quality, eating habits and PA level in community elderly. This is an observational and cross-sectional study with elderly of both sexes in the community of Lavras-MG. Sleep quality was assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Two 24-hour dietary recalls and the International Physical Ativity Questionnaire (IPAQ) were applied to evaluate food intake and PA level. Weight, waist circumference (WC), calf circumference (CC) and body mass index (BMI) were measured. Spearman correlation tests were performed between sleep quality and other variables of interest and Pearson's chi-square association tests between sleep quality and PA level, with significance of 5% for both tests. The study included 137 elderly people, 82.5% were female and 17.5% male, the mean age of the participants was 69.7 ± 6.35 years, 52% were overweight and 85% were high WC. The PSQI showed that 58.8% of the elderly have poor sleep quality. The time spent in moderate PA was 90 ±119 minutes and in intense PA 17 ± to 71.5 minutes, while the time spent in physical exercise (PE) was 180 ± 137 minutes in moderate PE and 14 ± to 43.6 minutes in intense PE. Still, 74% were considered active. Weak negative correlations were found between sleep quality and moderate exercise time (r=-0.169;p=0.024), intake of oils and fats (r=-0.170;p=0.024) and micronutrients: vitamin A (r=-0.243;p=0.002), magnesium (r=-0,167;p=0.026), manganese (r=-0.172;p=0.022), phosphorus (r=-0.155;p=0.036), iron (r=-0.148;p=0.042) and copper (r=-0.244;p=0.002). In conclusion, the present study demonstrated in a sample of active elderly in the community that there is a high prevalence of poor sleep quality and that subjective sleep quality may be associated with the level of physical activity and quality of food. Diets low in micronutrients may be associated with poor sleep quality in the elderly.