The influence of physical activity on reducing medication use in elderly people with chronic diseases: A study conducted in a neighborhood in the eastern zone of Manaus, Amazonas State, Brazil
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v15i5.50981Keywords:
Exercise, Older adults, Chronic diseases, Medication use.Abstract
This study aimed to analyze the influence of regular physical activity on reducing medication use among older adults with chronic diseases living in a neighborhood in the East Zone of Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. It is an integrative literature review with a quantitative approach, based on searches conducted in the PubMed/MEDLINE, SciELO, and Virtual Health Library databases, using Portuguese and English descriptors drawn from DeCS and MeSH and combined with Boolean operators. Full-text articles published in Portuguese, English, or Spanish addressing the relationship between physical activity, chronic diseases, and medication use in older adults were included, with priority given to randomized controlled trials, without excluding other relevant study designs. The findings indicated that regular physical activity is associated with improvements in clinical parameters such as blood pressure and glycemic control, increased functional capacity, and better quality of life, in addition to showing potential for reducing medication dosage or the number of medications used, especially among older adults with hypertension and diabetes mellitus. It was concluded that physical activity is an important, accessible, and low-cost non-pharmacological strategy that may contribute to chronic disease control, reduction of polypharmacy, and health promotion in the older population.
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