Objectives: Cardiovascular health (CVH) and physical performance (PP) are key factors of successful ageing. This study investigated whether self-reported CVH behaviours and self-rated health (SRH) are related to ideal CVH and PP. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting: Public places in Italy (e.g. exhibitions, malls, health promotion campaigns), outside of conventional healthcare settings. Participants: 1415 community-living persons aged 65+ years (mean age 72.2 ± 5.4; 58.4% female). Measurements: Three ideal CVH behaviors [regular physical activity (PA), healthy diet, no smoking] and SRH (1 excellent – 4 poor) were assessed through a brief questionnaire. Four ideal CVH factors [iBMI ≤ 25 kg/m2, untreated random total blood cholesterol ≤200 mg/dl, absence of diabetes (untreated random blood glucose ≤200 mg/dl), untreated blood pressure (iBP) <140/90mmHg] and two ideal PP factors [grip strength (iGrip), 5-repetition chair-stand test <10 seconds (iStand)] were measured. Results: Adjusted for age and gender, regular PA was positively related to CVH factor score (β = 0.1; p = < .001), iBMI (OR = 1.8; 95% CI = 1.5-2.3), iBP (OR = 1.3; 95% CI = 1.1-1.6) and iStand (OR = 1.6; 95% CI = 1.3-2.1). Healthy diet was positively related to CVH factor score (β = 0.1; p = < .05) and iGrip (OR = 1.4; 95% CI = 1.1-1.8). Participants rating SRH as “good” (OR = 2.0; 95% CI = 1.1-3.9) and “not so good” (OR = 2.3; 95% CI = 1.2-4.5) met iDiabetes more often than those with poor SRH. Moreover, iStand (OR = 3.2; 95% CI = 1.6-6.6) and iGrip (OR = 4.2; 95% = CI 2.0-8.8) were more prevalent among participants with excellent SRH compared with those with poor SRH. Conclusions: Physical activity, diet and self-rated health may provide quick and easy-to-assess metrics to identify persons aged 65+ years at risk of cardiovascular events and functional impairment, who could particularly benefit from engaging in health promotion programs.
(1) H.M. Rempe, R. Calvani, E. Marzetti, A. Picca, C.C. Sieber, E. Freiberger, F. Landi J Nutr Health Aging. 2019 in press