Evaluation of physical activity levels of individuals with chronic diseases

Deniz, K. Evaluation of physical activity levels of individuals with chronic diseases. Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Faculty of Medicine Department of Family Medicine Medical Specialization Thesis, Eskişehir, 2024. Lack of physical activity is one of the five leading risk factors for global mortality and chronic diseases. Individuals should remember to include exercise in their daily planning. Physical activity is effective on chronic diseases, and it has been shown that the incidence of some chronic diseases decreases with increasing physical activity levels.The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between variables such as gender, age, marital status, cohabitation status, social media use, daily sleep time, daily television viewing time and number of children with chronic diseases and physical activity levels. Our study was conducted with a total of 302 participants, 167 (55.3%) women and 135 (44.7%) men, aged 18 years and older, with chronic diseases who were admitted to Eskişehir Osmangazi University Faculty of Medicine, Family Medicine Outpatient Clinic until December 31, 2023 after ethics committee approval. According to the body mass index results, 44.04% of the participants were normal weight, 31.79% were overweight, 20.53% were obese and 3.64% were underweight. The most common chronic diseases among the participants were hypertension with 16.6% and respiratory system diseases with 16.2%. While 58.6% of the participants did not use medication continuously, 41.4% used medication continuously. 62.3% had one (1) chronic disease, 23.8% had two (2) chronic diseases and 13.9% had three (3) or more chronic diseases. While 60.3% of the participants had vigorous physical activity, 30.8% had moderate physical activity and 8.9% had low physical activity. As a result, although it was observed that the physical activity levels of individuals with chronic diseases who participated in our study were generally adequate (moderate to severe level/severe level), when we evaluated them according to some variables, we found that their physical activity levels were low. Rehabilitation protocols should be established for individuals with chronic diseases, their follow-up should be organized with a comprehensive biopsychosocial perspective, occupational and psychological support and physical activity training programs should be initiated. Key Words: Physical activity level, chronic disease