The Association Between Physical Activity, Mental Status, and Social and Family Support with Five Major Non-Communicable Chronic Diseases Among Elderly People: A Cross-Sectional Study of a Rural Population in Southern China

Abstract

Background: Non-communicable chronic diseases (NCDs) have become the top threat in China. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of major NCDs among the elderly population in rural areas in southern China and explore its associated social determinants. Methods: A multistage cluster random sampling methodology was adopted to select a total of 9245 rural elderly people from 3860 rural households in Guangdong Province. Interviews and physical examinations were performed to collect patient information. Descriptive and logistic regression analyses were conducted to explore factors associated with the presence of major NCDs. Results: Over one-third (38.5%) of the study population suffered from five major NCDs. The grade of activities of daily living (ADL), mental status, and social relationship of elderly people without NCDs were better than those with NCDs. The major factors associated with the presence of NCDs among the elderly people included age (70–79 years group and 80–89 years group), education level (senior high/technical secondary school and junior college and above), mental status (concentration, enrichment and happy life and memory), relationship with neighbours, activities of daily living (ADL) (being able to climb three floors and bend over), physical activity, marital status (bereft), and living conditions (with offspring and family members). Conclusions: The study identified several social determinants associated with the presence of major NCDs. A higher level of family support and physical exercise might contribute to improved physical condition, mental status, and ADL among the elderly people in rural areas in southern China.

Associação entre fatores sociodemográficos e relacionados à saúde com a prática de caminhada em área rural

“…Regarding walking in commuting time, we found a higher frequency of this type of walking among men than among women. This result is different from what we find in urban areas, where women tend to be more active than men in this domain 44 . One possible explanation of this finding may be that men in rural areas travel longer distances to get to work (data not shown), as they do things like chop wood and clear land, which require more travel, while women tend to perform domestic chores that do not require as much moving around.…”

“…In this study we found that more men than women walk 150 minutes or more a week. Similar results were found when other domains of physical activity are included 43,44 . Despite the dif-ference in the prevalence of walking among men and women in Brazil, there are few studies that incorporate discussions of gender and the social constructs that may be involved in these differences.…”

Age, period and cohort effects on adult physical activity levels from 1991 to 2011 in China

“…There is now clear consensus that physical activity (PA) helps reduce the risk of NCDs such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, cognitive function and cancers [ 4 , 5 ], and also has positive effects on many aspects of mental health [ 6 ]. However, while the benefits of PA are well accepted, unprecedented social and economic changes in China have led to dramatically lower levels of PA at work, as jobs have become less physically demanding over time.…”

Relationship Between Depressive Symptoms and Activity of Daily Living Dependence in Older Japanese: The Kurabuchi Study

“…Marital status has also been identified as an important social factor associated with mortality, and married people are more likely to engage in healthy behaviors (and less likely to engage in unhealthy ones) than widowed, divorced, or single people . An association has been identified between lack of social and family support and development of noncommunicable chronic diseases in elderly people, and we previously reported that inadequate social capital is associated with a decline in ADLs and death . Therefore, we focused in the current study on how living circumstances and marital status might influence the association between depressive symptoms and future functional impairment.…”