Biochemical and Functional Characteristics of Elderly Female Residents in the Rural and Urban Sectors of Yumbe, Chile

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate and compare functional capacity and biochemical factors among elderly women living in the urban and rural sectors of Yumbe, Chile. The sample consisted of 2 groups of elderly women from the province of Ñuble, from the eighth region of Chile, divided into urban elderly (UE) (n = 20) with a mean age of 67.57 ± 3.4 years, and rural elderly (RE) (n = 20), with a mean age of 71.25 ± 2.2 years. The following biochemical variables were analyzed: glycemic index a, and triglycerides levels and cholesterol levels. The test battery used to assess functional capacity was the Senior Fitness Test. It was found that the UE group presented better indices than the RE group for all variables except glycemia, for which the RE group presented better indices. In the functional capacity, in particular, the upper and lower body strength is significantly lower in the RE. The functional capacity and the biochemical parameters studied have shown that the elderly women of different social conditions in the Yumbe-Chile region do not present a good degree of functionality, and also show high levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, which might be the cause of the increased prevalence of health problems in this population.