Active aging: prevalence and gender and age differences in a population-based study

The aim of this study was to analyze prevalence rates and gender and age differences in indicators of active aging in elders participating in the Campinas Municipal Health Survey in Campinas, Sao Paulo State, Brazil (20142015). We estimated prevalence rates for participation by the elderly in twelve activities pertaining to four dimensions and calculated the prevalence ratios with Poisson regression. The study population consisted of 986 elderly. The results showed that 40.2% of the elderly participated in sociocultural activities, 25.3% were physically active in their leisure time, 21.7% used the Internet, 221% performed paid work, and only 26% were taking courses. In the social dimension, the only gender difference was in religious practice, which was less prevalent in men (PR = 0.67). In the dimension of physical activity, men were more active at work (PR = 2.10), in commuting (PR = 1.61), and in their leisure time (PR = 1.44). There was no gender difference in the intellectual dimension, and men were more active in paid work (PR = 1.78). The analyses by age brackets showed that in men, only physical activity at work and paid work presented lower prevalence in the group 80 years and older. Among the oldest elderly women, lower prevalence rates were seen in six activities, which suggests a possible differential effect of advanced age between the sexes. The results show important rates of participation by elderly in some indicators of active aging, besides challenges in activities that are performed rarely and gender differences in participation.