Physical Activity, Nutritional Status, and Cardiovascular Disease Prevalence in Geriatric Outpatients: A Cross-sectional Study in Swabi
Discuss this preprint
Start a discussion What are Sciety discussions?Listed in
This article is not in any list yet, why not save it to one of your lists.Abstract
Introduction
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of death among older adults worldwide. Cardiovascular risk is high in older adults, with modifiable risk factors including physical inactivity and poor diet.
Objectives
To evaluate geriatric physical activity, nutritional status (Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA)), and CVD prevalence, and to explore associations between physical activity and nutrition with cardiovascular risk.
Methodology
A cross-sectional study included 150 geriatric participants. A structured questionnaire used a WHO-aligned physical activity assessment tool (GPAQ) and the validated six-item MNA screening tool. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS 22.0.
Results
Among participants, 56.7% were physically inactive and 43.3% were active. CVD was present in 50.7% of participants. The mean MNA score was 8.83 ±1.98, indicating that a substantial proportion of participants were at risk of malnutrition. Physically active individuals had significantly lower odds of CVD compared with inactive participants (OR = 0.42, 95% CI: 0.21-0.84, p = 0.014). Nutritional risk was also significantly associated with increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease (p < 0.05).
Conclusion
Physical inactivity and nutritional vulnerability are highly prevalent in this geriatric cohort and are significantly associated with CVD. The association was 58% lower odds of CVD (OR=0.42, 95% CI: 0.21–0.84), though the wide interval precludes a precise estimate of effect magnitude.
