[Daily activities assessed by a high-tech pattern-recognition monitor in older adults: preliminary findings from the IMPACT65+ study].

Introduction: Physical activity and physical inactivity patterns can affect health status. In the elderly people, their study is relevant given the importance that they have on the morbidity and mortality.

Objective: To present preliminary data on activity and inactivity patterns of a sub-sample of older adults from the IMPACT65+ Study.

Material And Methods: The sample included the first 84 participants (57% women) over 65 years (age 70.7±4.7). Time spent in activity and inactivity patterns was obtained from an Intelligent Device for Energy Expenditure and Activity monitor over a continuous period of 24hours. The patterns analysed were: standing, lying down, sitting or reclining, and the transition between them. The physical activity patterns analysed were; walking, step up or step down, running, and jumping.

Results: Time spent in inactivity patterns like reclining, lying down, and sitting was 16.1±1.9hours (67% day), while the amount of time spent in activity patterns was 2.4±1.9hours (10% day). Differences were observed between men and women in the amount of hours sitting (9.7±3 men vs. 7.5±2.7 women) and standing (4.5±1.4 men vs. 5.6±2.7 women). These differences were greater in the older participants.

Conclusions: Preliminary results show that older adults spend a great part of day in inactivity patterns like sitting, and that gender is the only factor analysed that affects the time spent in the activity patterns analysed.