Acessibilidade / Reportar erro

Does multimorbitdity interfere with the fundtionality of the physically active elderly?

A multimorbidade interfere na funcionalidade de idosos fisicamente ativos?

Abstract

Introduction:

Multimorbidity is currently considered as a relevant clinical condition due to its severity and the high prevalence among the elderly.

Objective:

Assessing whether multimorbidity is an intervening factor in the functionality of the physically active elderly.

Method:

This is a cross-sectional study carried out with 70 older people of both sexes who practice exercises at the Fitness zones (FZ) in the municipality of Maringá, state of Paraná. A sociodemographic questionnaire, and the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Scale (WHO-DAS 2.0) were used as instruments. Data analysis was performed by using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Mann-Whitney test and Spearman’s rank correlation, in addition to the Path Analysis (p <0.05).

Results:

the elderly who have more than two diseases showed worse functionality than the ones with none or from 1 to 2 diseases (p <0.05). The number of diseases showed a significant association (p <0.05) with a reduction in functional domain scores, which explains from 15% to 31% of the variable’s variability. Specifically, the number of diseases was positively associated with the strong effect on the domains referred to as self-care (β = 0.56) and cognition (β = 0.55), besides a moderate effect on interpersonal relationships (β = 0.39) and social participation domains (β = 0.39).

Conclusion:

it was concluded that multimorbidity can be considered as an intervening factor in the functionality of elderly people who practice physical activity.

Keywords:
Multimorbidity; Functionality; Aging; Diseases; Self-Care

Resumo

Introdução:

A multimorbidade é considerada atualmente uma condição clínica relevante devido à sua gravidade e alta prevalência entre os idosos.

Objetivo:

Avaliar se a multimorbidade é um fator interveniente na funcionalidade do idoso fisicamente ativo.

Métodos:

Estudo transversal realizado com 70 idosos de ambos os sexos que praticam exercícios nas academias da terceira idade do município de Maringá, estado do Paraná. Um questionário sociodemográfico e a Escala de Avaliação da Incapacidade da Organização Mundial da Saúde (WHODAS 2.0) foram utilizados como instrumentos. A análise dos dados foi realizada pelo teste de Kolmogorov-Smirnov, teste de Kruskal-Wallis, teste de Mann-Whitney e correlação de Spearman, além da Análise de caminhos (p <0,05).

Resultados:

Os idosos com mais de duas doenças apresentaram pior funcionalidade do que os que não possuíam ou possuíam de uma a duas doenças (p <0,05). O número maior de doenças mostrou associação significativa (p <0,05), com redução nos escores dos domínios funcionais, o que explica de 15% a 31% da variabilidade das variáveis. Especificamente, o número de doenças foi positivamente associado ao forte efeito nos domínios referidos como autocuidado (β = 0,56) e cognição (β = 0,55), além de efeito moderado nos domínios de relações interpessoais (β = 0,39) e participação social (β = 0,39).

Conclusão:

concluiu-se que a multimorbidade pode ser considerada como um fator interveniente na funcionalidade de idosos que praticam atividade física.

Palavras-chave:
Multimorbidade; Funcionalidade; Envelhecimento; Doenças; Cuidados Pessoais

Introduction

The Brazilian population has been undergoing an accelerated aging process. In 2010 the Brazilian elderly population consisted of approximately 20.6 million people [11 Sinopse do Senso Demográfico de 2010. 2011 [cited 22 Jan 2019]. Available from: https://tinyurl.com/y72rbf3v
https://tinyurl.com/y72rbf3v...
], however, in 2020 this number will exceed to 30 million, corresponding to 14% of the total population and making it the sixth largest population of the elderly in the planet [22 Ramos LR, Tavares NUL, Bertoldi AD, Farias MR, Oliveira MA, Luiza V, et al. Polifarmácia e polimorbidade em idosos no Brasil: um desafio em saúde pública. Rev Saude Publica. 2016;50(supl 2):9s.].

In old age, the coexistence of chronic diseases is common due to chronic deregulation of multiple organ systems, which may cause adverse outcomes, such as poor quality of life, functional disability for daily activities, hospitalization and mortality [33 Vancampfort D, Stubbs B, Koyanagi A. Physical chronic conditions, multimorbidity and sedentary behavior amongst middle-aged and older adults in six low-and middle-income countries. Int J Behav Nutr PhysicnActiv. 2017;14(1):147-60.]. Therefore, advanced age alone is an important risk factor for multimorbidity [44 Fabbri E, Zoli M, Gonzalez-Freire M, Salive ME, Studenski SA, Ferrucci L. Aging and multimorbidity: new tasks, priorities, and frontiers for integrated gerontological and clinical research. J Am Med Dir. Assoc. 2015;16(8):640-7.], which is characterized by a set of morbidities that simultaneously overtake a person, without a major disease under study [55 Chi WC, Wolff J, Greer R, Dy S. Multimorbidity and decision-making preferences among older adults. Ann Fam Med. 2017;15(6):546-51.].

Multimorbidity is currently considered as a relevant clinical condition due to its severity and the high prevalence among the elderly [55 Chi WC, Wolff J, Greer R, Dy S. Multimorbidity and decision-making preferences among older adults. Ann Fam Med. 2017;15(6):546-51.]. It is estimated that 60% of 65-year-old people worldwide are affected and considering the octogenarians this proportion reaches 80% [66 Salive ME. Multimorbidity in Older Adults. Epidemiol Rev. 2013;15(1):75-83.]. Its prevalence varies in high-income countries, such as the United States (65%), Australia (83.2%) and the Netherlands (55%) [77 Wolff JL, Starfield B, Anderson G. Prevalence, expenditures, and complications of multiple chronic conditions in the elderly. Arch Intern Med. 2002;162(20):2269-76.

8 Britt HC, Harrison CM, Miller GC, Knox SA. Prevalence and patterns of multimorbidity in Australia. Med J Aust. 2008;189(2):72-7.
-99 Uijen AA, van de Lisdonk EH. Multimorbidity in primary care: prevalence and trend over the last 20 years. Eur J Gen Pract. 2008;14(Suppl 1):28-32], as well as in countries with low and moderate-income, such as India (57%) Vietnam (40%) [1010 Banjare P, Pradhan J. Socio-economic inequalities in the prevalence of multi-morbidity among the rural elderly in Bargarh District of Odisha (India). PloS One. 2014;9(6):e97832.-1111 Ha NT, Le NH, Khanal V, Moorin R. Multimorbidity and its social determinants among older people in southern provinces, Vietnam. Int J Equity Health. 2015;14(1):50.] and, in Brazil, the Ministry of Health estimates that it is 83% [1212 Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância e Saúde. Departamento de Análise de Situação de Saúde. Plano de ações estratégicas para o enfrentamento das doenças crônicas não transmissíveis (DCNT) no Brasil 2011-2022. Brasília, DF: Ministério da Saúde; 2011.].

Recently, studies have focused on the coexistence of multiple health problems, especially in the case of the elderly [44 Fabbri E, Zoli M, Gonzalez-Freire M, Salive ME, Studenski SA, Ferrucci L. Aging and multimorbidity: new tasks, priorities, and frontiers for integrated gerontological and clinical research. J Am Med Dir. Assoc. 2015;16(8):640-7.]. The effect of multimorbidity in reducing the survival of the elderly would be enhanced due to the presence of functional losses, for example [1313 Fortin M, Stewart M, Poitras M-E, Almirall J, Maddocks H. A Systematic Review of Prevalence Studies on Multimorbidity: Toward a More Uniform Methodology. Ann Fam Med. 2012;10(2):142-51.]. A multicenter longitudinal study [1414 Aijanseppa S, Notkola IL, Tijhuis M, van Staveren W, Kromhout D, Nissinen A. Physical functioning in elderly Europeans: 10 year changes in the north and south: the HALE project. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2005;59(5):413-9.] with European older people over 70 years of age revealed that the prevalence of functional disability was of 22%. Among Brazilians older individuals over 60 years of age, this prevalence was between 16% and 22% in the different regions of the country [1515 Costa AJL. Metodologias e indicadores para avaliação da capacidade funcional: análise preliminar do Suplemento Saúde da Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de - Domicílios PNAD, Brasil, 2003. Cienc Saude Coletiva. 2006;11(4):927-40.-1616 Parahyba MI, Veras R. Diferenciais sociodemográficos no declínio funcional em mobilidade física entre os idosos no Brasil. Cienc Saude Coletiva. 2008;13(4):1257-64.].

It is known that loss of functionality results in loss of autonomy, which refers to the self-administered life or freedom for making decisions; reduction of the quality of life; increased risk of hospitalization; institutionalization; falls and death [1717 Millán-Calenti JC, Tubío J, Pita-Fernández S, González-Abraldes I, Lorenzo T, Fernández-Arruty T, et al. Prevalence of functional disability in activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) and associated factors, as predictors of morbidity and mortality. Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2010;50(3):306-10.], besides the factor that functional dependence on daily activities is a predictor of death in individuals aged 75 years and over [1818 Organização Mundial da Saúde. Classificação internacional de funcionalidade, incapacidade e saúde. São Paulo: Edusp; 2003.]. It is worth remembering that, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), through the International Classification of Functioning (CIF), functionality is a term that involves all body functions, activities, and participation; similarly, disability is a term that includes disability, activity limitation, or restriction on participation in activities [1919 Alves LC, Leimann BCQ, Vasconcelos MEL, Carvalho MS, Vasconcelos AGG, Fonseca TCOD, et al. The effect of chronic diseases on functional status of the elderly living in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Cad Saude Publica. 2007;23(8):1924-30.].

However, not much is known about the direct impact of multimorbidity on the functional losses of the elderly, thus, it is relevant to carry out such survey. Therefore, this study aimed at assessing whether multimorbidity is an intervening factor in the functionality of the physically active elderly.

Methods

Participants

The population of this study consisted of elderly individuals (60 years old or over) who practice exercise at the Fitness zone (FZ) in the city of Maringá, Paraná, Brazil. The sample, chosen intentionally and for convenience, embraced 70 older people of both sexes. The elderly with possible cognitive deficits (evaluated by the Mini Mental State Examination - MMSE) [2020 Folstein MF, Folstein SE, McHugh PR. Mini mental State: a practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for clinician. J Psychiatric Res. 1975;12(1):189-98.-2121 Brucki SMD, Nitrini R, Caramelli P, Bertolucci PHF, Okamoto IH. Suggestions for using the mini-mental state exam in Brazil. Arq Neuropsiq. 2003;61(3):777-81.] and the ones with auditory deficits were excluded.

Instruments

In order to characterize the sociodemographic, healthy and physically activity profiles found at the FZ, a questionnaire structured by the authors was used, which had questions regarding age, sex, monthly income, education, use of medicines, self-perceived health, falls and near falls in the last semester, presence of chronic diseases (heart disease, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, cancer, osteoarthritis, lung disease, depression, osteoporosis) and multimorbidity (two or more chronic diseases).

Functionality was assessed by using the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Scale (WHO-DAS 2.0). This instrument was designed to evaluate the functionality in six domains of activity: Cognition, Mobility, Self-Care, Interpersonal Relationships, Daily Activities and Participation, based on 12 questions. Each item in WHO-DAS 2.0 evaluated the amount of difficulty that the elderly people had to perform their activities in the last month. Each question has a Likert scale with points from 0 (no difficulty) to 4 (extreme difficulty). When adding the two questions of each domain, a final score is obtained that can vary from 0 to 8, and the greater it is, the greater the difficulty (inability) to perform the domain assessed [2222 Moreira, A, Alvarelhão J, Silva AG, Costa S, Queirós A. Tradução e validação para português do WHODAS 2.0-12 itens em pessoas com 55 ou mais anos. Rev Port Sau. Pub. 2015;33(2):179-82.].

Procedures

This is an analytical observational cross-sectional study, approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Metropolitan University Center of Maringá (UNIFAMMA) under Opinion number 2.986.433/2018.

Firstly, contact was made with the Secretary of State for Sport and Recreation of Maringá city in order to obtain a list and address of all the FZ of the municipality. After that, four FZ were classified.

The researchers collected the data at their convenience, regarding time and days. When addressing the elderly at the FZ, the purposes and procedures of the research were explained. The elderly who agreed to participate, signed the Free Informed Consent Form (FICF). On average, each collection was performed in 10 minutes.

Data analysis

The data analysis was carried out by using the SPSS 22.0 Software with a descriptive and inferential statistics. Absolute frequency and percentage were used as descriptive measures for the categorical variables. Considering the numerical variables, the data normality was initially verified by using Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Since the data did not show a normal distribution, Median (Md) and Quartiles (Q1; Q3) were used as measures for central tendency and dispersion. A comparison between functionality and the number of diseases was performed by using Kruskal-Wallis test followed by Mann-Whitney U test for paired groups. The correlation between the number of diseases and the functionality of the elderly was assessed by using Spearman’s coefficient. Within our analyses, correlations were judged as small (up to .39), medium (between .40 and .69), or large (r > ± .70) based on Nunally and Berstein criteria [2323 Nunnally JC, Bernstein IH. Psychometric theory. New York: McGraw-Hill; 1994.]. The significance of p <0.05 was adopted.

In order to verify the magnitude of the association between the number of diseases and functionality, a Path Analysis model was conducted with the variables that obtained a significant correlation (p<.05). The existence of outliers was evaluated by applying Mahalanobis square distance (DM2), and the univariate normality of the variables through the univariate and multivariate coefficients of asymmetry (ISkI <3) and kurtosis (IKuI <10). Since the data did not show a normal distribution, the Bollen-Stine Bootstrap technique was used to correct the value of the coefficients estimated by the Maximum Likelihood Method [2424 Marôco J. Análise de Equações Estruturais: Fundamento teóricos, Software & Aplicações. Pêro Pinheiro, Portugal: ReportNumber; 2014.] implemented in AMOS software version 22.0. In order to assess the sample suitability for the analysis proposed, the Bootstrapping technique was used. There were no DM2 values ​​indicating the existence of outliers, nor sufficiently strong correlations among the variables that pointed out to multicollinearity (Variance Inflation Factors <5.0). Based on the recommendations by Kline [2525 Kline RB. Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modelling. New York: The Guilford Press; 2012.], the regression coefficients interpretation had as reference the following: little effect for coefficients <.20, medium effect for the coefficients up to .49, and a strong effect for coefficients > 0.50.

Results

Out of the 70 participants, the majority of the elderly were female (64.3%), had a partner (61.4%), were 60-70 years old (77.1%), had a monthly income from one to two Brazilian minimum wages (62.1%) and were retired (72.9%). It was observed that 37.1% of the participants had completed high school/higher education. According to the results of Table 1, few percentage of the elderly patients reported heart disease (14.3%), hypertension (47.1%), stroke (4.3%), diabetes (17.1%), cancer (.0%), osteoarthritis (24.3%), lung disease (8.6%), depression (27.1%) or osteoporosis (24.3%). It is worth mentioning that 60.0% of the elderly reported having from one to two of the diseases mentioned above.

Table 1
Diseases reported by the elderly users of the Fitness zone in the city of Maringá, Paraná, Brazil, 2018

When assessing the functionality of the elderly (Table 2), it was seen that the low scores in all the domains and overall functionality, with scores close to 0.0, indicated that the elderly had a good functionality.

Table 2
Descriptive analysis of the functionality of elderly users of the Fitness zone in the city of Maringá, Paraná, Brazil, 2018

When comparing the functionality of the elderly according to the number of the self-reported diseases (Table 3), a significant difference was found only in the domains referred to as cognition (p =.004), self-care (p =.001) and interpersonal relationships (p =.006), which shows that the elderly with more than two diseases had a higher functional score than the elderly with none or from 1 to 2 diseases, that is, the elderly with less or no disease showed a better functionality.

Table 3
Comparison of the functionality of the elderly users of the Fitness zone based on the number of the diseases associated. Maringá, Paraná, Brazil, 2018

It was seen (Table 4) that the number of diseases correlated significantly (p <.05) and positively with cognition (r =.32), self-care (r =.50), interpersonal relationships (r =.41), social participation (r =.24) and overall functionality (r =.30). These results show that there is a directly proportional relationship among the variables.

Table 4
Correlation between the number of diseases and functionality of the elderly users of the Fitness zone in the city of Maringá, Paraná, Brazil, 2018

In order to assess the magnitude of the association between the number of diseases and functionality of the elderly (Figure 1), after the correlation analysis, a Path Analysis model was carried out for the variables that showed a significant correlation (p<.05). It was seen that the number of diseases reported by the elderly had a significant association (p<.05) with the functional domains, which explained from 15% to 31% of the variable’s variability.

Figure 1
Model of the association between the number of diseases and the functional domains of the elderly users of the Fitness zone in the city of Maringá, Paraná, Brazil, 2018.

Considering the individual trajectories of the Path Analysis model, it was seen that the number of diseases was positively associated with a strong effect on the self-care (β =.56) and cognition (β =.55) domains; a moderate effect on the interpersonal relationships (β =.39) and social participation (β =.39) domains, which indicated that the more the elderly reported a disease, the greater the functional score, that is, the worse the functionality.

Discussion

The present study aimed at assessing whether multimorbidity is an intervening factor in the functionality of the elderly who practice physical activity. The main findings revealed that the number of diseases is associated with the poorer functionality of older people (Figure 1).

The prevalence of the multimorbidity rate found in the older population was of 60%, a rate that meets the findings by Maregoni et al [2626 Marengoni A, Angleman S, Melis R, Mangialasche F, Karp, A, Garmen, A. Aging with multimorbidity: a systematic review of the literature. Ageing Res Rev. 2011;10(4):430-9.] and Violán et al [2727 Violán C, Forguet-Boreu Q, Flores-Mateo G, Salisbury C, Blom J, Freitag M, et al. Prevalence, determinants and patterns of multimorbidity in primary care: a systematic review of observational studies. PloS One. 2014;9(7):102-49.], that is, 50% and 98%, respectively. The differences of these findings can be justified by the different ways of assessing the prevalence of multimorbidity among the studies, which makes the investigation difficult, mainly due to the lack of a standard in relation to the number of diseases to be considered. The most recent studies are based on the occurrence of two or more chronic diseases to be classified as multimorbidity [2626 Marengoni A, Angleman S, Melis R, Mangialasche F, Karp, A, Garmen, A. Aging with multimorbidity: a systematic review of the literature. Ageing Res Rev. 2011;10(4):430-9.

27 Violán C, Forguet-Boreu Q, Flores-Mateo G, Salisbury C, Blom J, Freitag M, et al. Prevalence, determinants and patterns of multimorbidity in primary care: a systematic review of observational studies. PloS One. 2014;9(7):102-49.

28 Arokiasamy P, Uttamacharya U, Jain K, Biritwum RB, Yawson AE, Wu F, et al. The impact of multimorbidity on adult physical and mental health in low-and middle-income countries: what does the study on global ageing and adult health (SAGE) reveal? BMC Med. 2015;13(1):178-94.

29 Zellweger U, Bopp M, Holzer BM, Djalali S, Kaplan V. Prevalence of chronic medical conditions in Switzerland: exploring estimates validity by comparing complementary data sources. BMC Public Health. 2014;14:1157-69.
-3030 Haregu T, Oldenburg B, Setswe G, Elliott J. Perspectives, constructs and methods In the measurement of multimorbidity and comorbidity: A critical review. Internet J Epidemiol. 2012;10:1-9.].

Regarding the functionality of the elderly, it can be seen that the more the elderly showed multimorbidity, the worse their functionality was. This finding shows that older people with multimorbidity have poor functionality, a deficit in their health self-care, and a greater degree of dependence for daily life activity, with negative repercussions on their functional capacity [3131 Huntley AL, Johnson R, Purdy S, Valderas JM, Salisbury C. Measures of multimorbidity and morbidity burden for use in primary care and community settings: a systematic review and guide. Ann Fam Med. 2012;10(2):134-41.

32 Marschollek M. Decision support at home (DSatHOME) - system architectures and requirements. Med Inform Decis Mak. 2012;12:43-51.

33 John PDS, Tyas SL, Menec V, Tate R. Multimorbidity, disability, and mortality in community-dwelling older adults. Can Fam Physician. 2014;60:272-80.
-3434 Manini TM, Beavers DP, Pahor M, Guralnik JM, Spring B, Church TS, et al. Effect of Physical Activity on Self-Reported Disability in Older Adults: Results from the LIFE Study. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2017;65(5):980-98]. As the number of diseases increases, the elderly have physical, social and mental complications, and this makes their self-perceived health worse [3535 World Health Organization - WHO. Relatório Mundial de Envelhecimento e Saúde. Geneva: WHO; 2015.].

When comparing elderly patients who have one or two diseases with others with no disease, it can be seen that the elderly with no disease showed more functionality. The study by Welmer et al [3636 Welmer AK, Kareholt I, Angleman S, Rydwik E, Fratiglioni L. Can chronic multimorbidity explain the age-related differences in strength, speed and ba lance in older adults? Aging Clin Exp Res. 2012; 24(5):480-9.] showed that the male and female elderly with multimorbidity had the worst physical performance. Therefore, physical exercise emerges as a non-pharmaceutical product for healthy aging [3737 Santos L, Cyrino ES, Antunes M, Santos DA, Sardinha LB. Changes in phase angle and body composition induced by resistance training in older women. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2016;70(12):1408-13.

38 Müller AM, Ansari P, Ebrahim NA, Khoo S. Physical activity and aging research: a bibliometric analysis. J Aging Phys Act. 2016;24(3):476-83.

39 Ribeiro AS, Tomeleri CM, Souza MF, Pina FLC, Schoenfeld BJ, Nascimento MA, et al. Effect of resistance training on C-reactive protein, blood glucose and lipid profile in older women with different levels of RT experience. Age. 2015;37(6):109-20.
-4040 van Alphen HJ, Hortobágyi T, van Heuvelen MJ. Barriers, motivators, and facilitators of physical activity in dementia patients: a systematic review. Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2016;66:109-18.], since its practice is associated with the improvement of physical, physiological [4141 Agostini CM, Rodrigues VS, Guimarães AC, Damázio LCM, Vasconcelos NN. Análise do desempenho motor e do equilíbrio corporal de idosos ativos com hipertensão arterial e diabetes tipo 2. Rev Aten Saude. 2018;16(55):29-35.-4242 Chung PK, Zhao Y, Liu JD, Quach B. A canonical correlation analysis on the relationship between functional fitness and health-related quality of life in older adults. Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2017;68:44-8.] and psychological aspects [4343 Silva ANC, Castanho GKF, Chiminazz JGC, Barreira J, Fernandes PT. Fatores motivacionais relacionados à prática de atividade física em idosos. Psicol Estud. 2016;21(4):677-85.-4444 Siqueira AF, Rebesco DB, Amaral FA, Maganhini CB, Agnol SMD, Furmann, M, et al. Efeito de um programa de fisioterapia aquática no equilíbrio e capacidade funcional de idosos. Saude Pesqui. 2017;10(2):331-8.]. Physical exercise is essential for healthy aging. Specifically, exercises involving large muscle groups of rhythmic and aerobic nature such as swimming, walking, and water aerobics improve physical fitness, consequently, assist in maintaining functionality and improve the quality of life of the elderly [4545 Oliveira DV, Jardim NP, Leme EC, Antunes MD, Nascimento Jr JRA. Análise comparativa da força muscular e funcionalidade de idosas praticantes de hidroginástica e treinamento funcional. Arq Cienc Saude. 2017;24(2):95-9.].

Finally, a significant positive correlation was found between the number of diseases and functional cognition, self-care, interpersonal relationships, social participation, and overall functionality. Ricci and colleagues [4444 Siqueira AF, Rebesco DB, Amaral FA, Maganhini CB, Agnol SMD, Furmann, M, et al. Efeito de um programa de fisioterapia aquática no equilíbrio e capacidade funcional de idosos. Saude Pesqui. 2017;10(2):331-8.] also pointed out the relation between the number of comorbidities and the cognitive level; the authors found that the cognitive impairment associated with the presence of multiple diseases and aging reduced functionality.

The study by Chi et al [55 Chi WC, Wolff J, Greer R, Dy S. Multimorbidity and decision-making preferences among older adults. Ann Fam Med. 2017;15(6):546-51.], referring to decision-making capacity on health, self-care and social participation, showed that the older people with four or more diseases are less likely to make active decisions on such subjects. In agreement with this study, other authors have also highlighted the association of multimorbidity with functional loss and pointed out to such relationship as being determinant on survival and quality of life over time [2626 Marengoni A, Angleman S, Melis R, Mangialasche F, Karp, A, Garmen, A. Aging with multimorbidity: a systematic review of the literature. Ageing Res Rev. 2011;10(4):430-9.,4646 Ricci NA, Lemos ND, Orrico KF, Gazzola JM. Evolução da independência funcional de idosos atendidos em programa de assistência domiciliária pela óptica do cuidador. Acta Fisiatr. 2006;13(1):26-31.

47 Nunes BP, Flores TR, Mielke GI, Thume E, Facchini LA. Multimorbidity and mortality in older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2016;67:130-8.
-4848 Caughey GE, Ramsay EN, Vitry AI, Gilbert AL, Luszcz MA, Ryan P, et al. Comorbid chronic diseases, discordant impact on mortality in older people: a 14-year longitudinal population study. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2010;64(12):1036-42.].

Although the findings of this study point to important information regarding the association between multimorbidity and functionality of the elderly who practice physical activity, some limitations should be highlighted. Firstly, only the elderly who practice physical activity at the ATIs were investigated, which does not allow the generalization of the results for the entire elderly population. Another important limitation refers to the transversal character of this study; this does not allow inferences on causality. Perhaps a longitudinal study could show the causal nature of the associations between multimorbidity and functionality. Therefore, further studies should investigate such associations through a longitudinal or prospective research design. Also, assessing the sedentary elderly who not practice physical exercise is suggested, as well as evaluating the use of multi-group analyzes, multilevel and latent mean differences, to understand the complex relationships among these variables in different groups.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that multimorbidity can be considered as an intervening factor in the functionality of the elderly who practice physical activity. It is emphasized that the greater the number of diseases that the elderly have, the greater their difficulty will be, mainly in relation to cognition, self-care, interpersonal relationships and social participation. From a practical point of view, maintaining health during the aging process to avoid damages to functionality is important. Thus, promoting physical exercise programs is essential, since it is a tool to mitigate the consequences of the aging process and to provide the elderly with independence.

References

  • 1
    Sinopse do Senso Demográfico de 2010. 2011 [cited 22 Jan 2019]. Available from: https://tinyurl.com/y72rbf3v
    » https://tinyurl.com/y72rbf3v
  • 2
    Ramos LR, Tavares NUL, Bertoldi AD, Farias MR, Oliveira MA, Luiza V, et al. Polifarmácia e polimorbidade em idosos no Brasil: um desafio em saúde pública. Rev Saude Publica. 2016;50(supl 2):9s.
  • 3
    Vancampfort D, Stubbs B, Koyanagi A. Physical chronic conditions, multimorbidity and sedentary behavior amongst middle-aged and older adults in six low-and middle-income countries. Int J Behav Nutr PhysicnActiv. 2017;14(1):147-60.
  • 4
    Fabbri E, Zoli M, Gonzalez-Freire M, Salive ME, Studenski SA, Ferrucci L. Aging and multimorbidity: new tasks, priorities, and frontiers for integrated gerontological and clinical research. J Am Med Dir. Assoc. 2015;16(8):640-7.
  • 5
    Chi WC, Wolff J, Greer R, Dy S. Multimorbidity and decision-making preferences among older adults. Ann Fam Med. 2017;15(6):546-51.
  • 6
    Salive ME. Multimorbidity in Older Adults. Epidemiol Rev. 2013;15(1):75-83.
  • 7
    Wolff JL, Starfield B, Anderson G. Prevalence, expenditures, and complications of multiple chronic conditions in the elderly. Arch Intern Med. 2002;162(20):2269-76.
  • 8
    Britt HC, Harrison CM, Miller GC, Knox SA. Prevalence and patterns of multimorbidity in Australia. Med J Aust. 2008;189(2):72-7.
  • 9
    Uijen AA, van de Lisdonk EH. Multimorbidity in primary care: prevalence and trend over the last 20 years. Eur J Gen Pract. 2008;14(Suppl 1):28-32
  • 10
    Banjare P, Pradhan J. Socio-economic inequalities in the prevalence of multi-morbidity among the rural elderly in Bargarh District of Odisha (India). PloS One. 2014;9(6):e97832.
  • 11
    Ha NT, Le NH, Khanal V, Moorin R. Multimorbidity and its social determinants among older people in southern provinces, Vietnam. Int J Equity Health. 2015;14(1):50.
  • 12
    Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância e Saúde. Departamento de Análise de Situação de Saúde. Plano de ações estratégicas para o enfrentamento das doenças crônicas não transmissíveis (DCNT) no Brasil 2011-2022. Brasília, DF: Ministério da Saúde; 2011.
  • 13
    Fortin M, Stewart M, Poitras M-E, Almirall J, Maddocks H. A Systematic Review of Prevalence Studies on Multimorbidity: Toward a More Uniform Methodology. Ann Fam Med. 2012;10(2):142-51.
  • 14
    Aijanseppa S, Notkola IL, Tijhuis M, van Staveren W, Kromhout D, Nissinen A. Physical functioning in elderly Europeans: 10 year changes in the north and south: the HALE project. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2005;59(5):413-9.
  • 15
    Costa AJL. Metodologias e indicadores para avaliação da capacidade funcional: análise preliminar do Suplemento Saúde da Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de - Domicílios PNAD, Brasil, 2003. Cienc Saude Coletiva. 2006;11(4):927-40.
  • 16
    Parahyba MI, Veras R. Diferenciais sociodemográficos no declínio funcional em mobilidade física entre os idosos no Brasil. Cienc Saude Coletiva. 2008;13(4):1257-64.
  • 17
    Millán-Calenti JC, Tubío J, Pita-Fernández S, González-Abraldes I, Lorenzo T, Fernández-Arruty T, et al. Prevalence of functional disability in activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) and associated factors, as predictors of morbidity and mortality. Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2010;50(3):306-10.
  • 18
    Organização Mundial da Saúde. Classificação internacional de funcionalidade, incapacidade e saúde. São Paulo: Edusp; 2003.
  • 19
    Alves LC, Leimann BCQ, Vasconcelos MEL, Carvalho MS, Vasconcelos AGG, Fonseca TCOD, et al. The effect of chronic diseases on functional status of the elderly living in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Cad Saude Publica. 2007;23(8):1924-30.
  • 20
    Folstein MF, Folstein SE, McHugh PR. Mini mental State: a practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for clinician. J Psychiatric Res. 1975;12(1):189-98.
  • 21
    Brucki SMD, Nitrini R, Caramelli P, Bertolucci PHF, Okamoto IH. Suggestions for using the mini-mental state exam in Brazil. Arq Neuropsiq. 2003;61(3):777-81.
  • 22
    Moreira, A, Alvarelhão J, Silva AG, Costa S, Queirós A. Tradução e validação para português do WHODAS 2.0-12 itens em pessoas com 55 ou mais anos. Rev Port Sau. Pub. 2015;33(2):179-82.
  • 23
    Nunnally JC, Bernstein IH. Psychometric theory. New York: McGraw-Hill; 1994.
  • 24
    Marôco J. Análise de Equações Estruturais: Fundamento teóricos, Software & Aplicações. Pêro Pinheiro, Portugal: ReportNumber; 2014.
  • 25
    Kline RB. Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modelling. New York: The Guilford Press; 2012.
  • 26
    Marengoni A, Angleman S, Melis R, Mangialasche F, Karp, A, Garmen, A. Aging with multimorbidity: a systematic review of the literature. Ageing Res Rev. 2011;10(4):430-9.
  • 27
    Violán C, Forguet-Boreu Q, Flores-Mateo G, Salisbury C, Blom J, Freitag M, et al. Prevalence, determinants and patterns of multimorbidity in primary care: a systematic review of observational studies. PloS One. 2014;9(7):102-49.
  • 28
    Arokiasamy P, Uttamacharya U, Jain K, Biritwum RB, Yawson AE, Wu F, et al. The impact of multimorbidity on adult physical and mental health in low-and middle-income countries: what does the study on global ageing and adult health (SAGE) reveal? BMC Med. 2015;13(1):178-94.
  • 29
    Zellweger U, Bopp M, Holzer BM, Djalali S, Kaplan V. Prevalence of chronic medical conditions in Switzerland: exploring estimates validity by comparing complementary data sources. BMC Public Health. 2014;14:1157-69.
  • 30
    Haregu T, Oldenburg B, Setswe G, Elliott J. Perspectives, constructs and methods In the measurement of multimorbidity and comorbidity: A critical review. Internet J Epidemiol. 2012;10:1-9.
  • 31
    Huntley AL, Johnson R, Purdy S, Valderas JM, Salisbury C. Measures of multimorbidity and morbidity burden for use in primary care and community settings: a systematic review and guide. Ann Fam Med. 2012;10(2):134-41.
  • 32
    Marschollek M. Decision support at home (DSatHOME) - system architectures and requirements. Med Inform Decis Mak. 2012;12:43-51.
  • 33
    John PDS, Tyas SL, Menec V, Tate R. Multimorbidity, disability, and mortality in community-dwelling older adults. Can Fam Physician. 2014;60:272-80.
  • 34
    Manini TM, Beavers DP, Pahor M, Guralnik JM, Spring B, Church TS, et al. Effect of Physical Activity on Self-Reported Disability in Older Adults: Results from the LIFE Study. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2017;65(5):980-98
  • 35
    World Health Organization - WHO. Relatório Mundial de Envelhecimento e Saúde. Geneva: WHO; 2015.
  • 36
    Welmer AK, Kareholt I, Angleman S, Rydwik E, Fratiglioni L. Can chronic multimorbidity explain the age-related differences in strength, speed and ba lance in older adults? Aging Clin Exp Res. 2012; 24(5):480-9.
  • 37
    Santos L, Cyrino ES, Antunes M, Santos DA, Sardinha LB. Changes in phase angle and body composition induced by resistance training in older women. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2016;70(12):1408-13.
  • 38
    Müller AM, Ansari P, Ebrahim NA, Khoo S. Physical activity and aging research: a bibliometric analysis. J Aging Phys Act. 2016;24(3):476-83.
  • 39
    Ribeiro AS, Tomeleri CM, Souza MF, Pina FLC, Schoenfeld BJ, Nascimento MA, et al. Effect of resistance training on C-reactive protein, blood glucose and lipid profile in older women with different levels of RT experience. Age. 2015;37(6):109-20.
  • 40
    van Alphen HJ, Hortobágyi T, van Heuvelen MJ. Barriers, motivators, and facilitators of physical activity in dementia patients: a systematic review. Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2016;66:109-18.
  • 41
    Agostini CM, Rodrigues VS, Guimarães AC, Damázio LCM, Vasconcelos NN. Análise do desempenho motor e do equilíbrio corporal de idosos ativos com hipertensão arterial e diabetes tipo 2. Rev Aten Saude. 2018;16(55):29-35.
  • 42
    Chung PK, Zhao Y, Liu JD, Quach B. A canonical correlation analysis on the relationship between functional fitness and health-related quality of life in older adults. Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2017;68:44-8.
  • 43
    Silva ANC, Castanho GKF, Chiminazz JGC, Barreira J, Fernandes PT. Fatores motivacionais relacionados à prática de atividade física em idosos. Psicol Estud. 2016;21(4):677-85.
  • 44
    Siqueira AF, Rebesco DB, Amaral FA, Maganhini CB, Agnol SMD, Furmann, M, et al. Efeito de um programa de fisioterapia aquática no equilíbrio e capacidade funcional de idosos. Saude Pesqui. 2017;10(2):331-8.
  • 45
    Oliveira DV, Jardim NP, Leme EC, Antunes MD, Nascimento Jr JRA. Análise comparativa da força muscular e funcionalidade de idosas praticantes de hidroginástica e treinamento funcional. Arq Cienc Saude. 2017;24(2):95-9.
  • 46
    Ricci NA, Lemos ND, Orrico KF, Gazzola JM. Evolução da independência funcional de idosos atendidos em programa de assistência domiciliária pela óptica do cuidador. Acta Fisiatr. 2006;13(1):26-31.
  • 47
    Nunes BP, Flores TR, Mielke GI, Thume E, Facchini LA. Multimorbidity and mortality in older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2016;67:130-8.
  • 48
    Caughey GE, Ramsay EN, Vitry AI, Gilbert AL, Luszcz MA, Ryan P, et al. Comorbid chronic diseases, discordant impact on mortality in older people: a 14-year longitudinal population study. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2010;64(12):1036-42.
  • ERRATUM

    In the article “Does multimorbidity interfere with the functionality of the physically active elderly?”, DOI number http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1980-5918.033.AO52, published in Revista Fisioterapia em Movimento, v. 33, e003352, 2020, (http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0103-51502020000100249&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en), on page 1:
    Where it reads:
    Does multimorbitdity interfere with the fundtionality of the physically active elderly
    It should read:
    Does multimorbidity interfere with the functionality of the physically active elderly?
    In the article “Does multimorbidity interfere with the functionality of the physically active elderly?”, DOI number http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1980-5918.033.AO52, published in Revista Fisioterapia em Movimento, v. 33, e003352, 2020, (http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0103-51502020000100249&lng= en&nrm=iso&tlng=en), on pages 2, 4, 6 and 8:
    Where it reads:
    Oliveira DV, Moreira CR, Freire GLM, Melo RS, Franco MF, Nascimento Júnior JRA.
    It should read:
    Oliveira DV, Moreira CR, Freire GLM, Melo RS, Franco MF, Nascimento Jr JRA.

Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    24 July 2020
  • Date of issue
    2020

History

  • Received
    22 Feb 2019
  • Accepted
    03 Feb 2020
Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná Rua Imaculada Conceição, 1155 - Prado-Velho -, Curitiba - PR - CEP 80215-901, Telefone: (41) 3271-1608 - Curitiba - PR - Brazil
E-mail: revista.fisioterapia@pucpr.br