Associations between sociodemographic factors and physical activity and sedentary behaviors in adults with chronic diseases during COVID-19 pandemic

The pandemic of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) may be affecting the physical activity (PA) level in much of the population. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of physical inactivity and sedentary behavior (SB) among adults with chronic diseases and their associations with sociodemographic factors during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-sectional study included 249 participants (age: 18–91 years; 61.4% female) with chronic conditions and attended the Family Health Strategy program in a small town in Brazil. Data were collected between 2020-07–13 and 2020-07-24 by face-to-face interviews. Self-reported PA, sitting time, chronic diseases, medication use, sociodemographic data, and self-isolation adherence were obtained by questionnaire. During this specific time point of the COVID-19 pandemic, 71.5% of participants did not meet the PA recommendations (≥500 METs-min/week), and the prevalence of SB risk (≥4 h sitting) was 62.7%. Adjusted logistic regression indicated that male participants (odds ratio [OR]: 1.89 [95% CI 1.02–3.53]), living alone (OR: 2.92 [95% CI 1.03–8.30]) or in a two-person household (OR: 2.32 [95% CI 1.16–4.63]), and those who reported sometimes performing self-isolation (OR: 3.07 [95% CI 1.47–6.40]) were more likely to meet the minimum PA recommendations. Current smokers had a lower odds (OR: 0.36 [95% CI 0.14–0.95]) of meeting the PA recommendations. Older participants (OR: 2.18 [95% CI 1.06–4.50]) and those who had multimorbidity (OR: 1.92 [95% CI 1.07–3.44]) were more likely to have a higher degree of SB. There is an urgent need to mitigate physical inactivity and SB, and public health interventions must take into account sociodemographic status.