Purpose In Life And Physical Activities In Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate purpose in life among community-dwelling older adults and its possible associations with physical activity. METHODS: Cross-sectional study conducted with 654 older adult users of primary health care in a city in Southern Brazil. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire and the Purpose in Life Scale were administered to participants. Data analysis was conducted using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Kruskal-Wallis, and Mann-Whitney tests, and Spearman’s correlation coefficients were calculated. Significance was accepted at p < 0.05. RESULTS: The results showed a significant difference in purpose in life according to age (p = 0.003), monthly income (p = 0.001), health perception (p = 0.020), and medication (p = 0.008). There was a very weak correlation between purpose in life and minutes walked per day (r = -0.13). CONCLUSION: We conclude that sociodemographic variables and health conditions (such as health perception and medications used, respectively) can be considered intervening factors in purpose in life among older adults. Engagement in physical activity was not associated with purpose in life.

Keywords

• aged
• aging
• epidemiology
• health services
• public health
• physical activity