Paid Work and Physical Activity Preserve Functional Capacity in Elderly People

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and association between functional disability and health conditions in elderly people. Method: A cross-sectional, population-based study with 1,705 elderly residents in urban region of Florianópolis, Brazil, from September 2009 to July 2010. The functional disability was classified according to the difficulty in accomplishing six basic activities of daily living. The crude and adjusted multinomial logistic regression was used to identify the associated factors. Results: The prevalence of mild functional disability was 38.9%, and it was positively associated with being female, older age, reporting four or more chronic diseases, overweight, and negative self-perception of health. High education and income, having paid work, and being physically active in leisure activities reduced the chance of presenting it. The prevalence of moderate/severe disability was 11.7% and positively associated with older age, presence of depressive symptoms, four or more chronic diseases, and negative self-perception of health. High education, paid work, and being physically active in leisure activities also reduced the chance of presenting moderate/severe disability. Conclusion: Being gainfully employed, having a high level of education, and being physically active in their leisure time reduced the chance of presenting disability. The negative self-perception of health was the factor that most increased the chance of presenting functional disability.