The Association Between Socio-Demographic and Socio-Economic Factors and Meeting the Recommended Physical Activity Guidelines in Older Adults in the U.S.

This study aimed to identify socio-economic and demographic factors associated with meeting the recommended physical activity (PA) guidelines for older adults. This analyt-ical, cross-sectional study used data from the 2022 NHIS including 8189 older adults (≥65 years). Compliance with aerobic and strengthening PA guidelines was the main outcome variable. Covariates included sex, education, income, relationship status, race, housing stability, urban/rural county, health status and region. Unadjusted and adjusted log re-gression analyses calculated odd ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Only 14.4% (n=1235) of older adults met the PA guidelines. Odds of complying decreased by 40% in NH single/multiple races (OR 0.6; 95 CI 0.4-1.0). Men had higher odds (OR 1.4; 95 CI 1.2-1.6) of adhering than women. Compared with bachelor graduates, odds of adhering were 1.4 (95 CI 1.2-1.7) in graduate participants, 0.3 (95% CI 0.2-0.4) less than HS, 0.4 (95% CI 0.3-0.5) HS, and 0.7 (95% CI 0.6-0.8) some college. The odds decreased by 40% for those with an income-to-poverty ratio threshold < 1 (OR 0.6; 95 CI 0.4-0.9), 1-1.99 (OR 0.6; 95 CI 0.4-0.7), and 2-3.99 (OR 0.6; 95 CI 0.5-0.8) compared with ≥5. Healthcare providers should develop targeted interventions to meet individuals’ unique circumstances, addressing these inequities.