Cardiovascular risk, anthropometric indexes and perception of quality of life in the elderly

Abstract

The present study aimed to identify the prevalence of cardiovascular risk according to anthropometric indices and to evaluate the quality of life in elderly women participating in community groups of physical activity practice. It is a cross-sectional study, with convenience sample. The sample consisted of 84 elderly women with a mean age of 66.66 ± 5.54 years. An instrument compiled from questionnaires validated for Brazil was applied. Data were also collected on body mass, height and circumferences of waist, hip and abdomen. sociodemographic variables, perception of quality of life, level of physical activity and evaluation of anthropometric indices, body mass index and waist / hip ratio were analyzed. The main results show that 64.6% of the elderly are active, waist circumference classifies 79.48% of the elderly as "risk" and there was no difference between the perception of quality of life and the risk exposure identified by the anthropometric index (F (3,71) = 0.31, p = 0.82). It was concluded that waist circumference was the anthropometric index that best estimated the risk of the group and that the perception of quality of life independent of the risk estimate to which the subject is exposed.