Kinesiophobia as a Problem in Adherence to Physical Activity Recommendations in Elderly Polish Patients with Coronary...

The most commonly occurring diseases among the elderly people are cardiovascular system ones and among them the coronary artery disease (CAD). It is considered that the age and insufficient level of physical activity (PA) are the crucial risk factors of CAD. The key barrier which prevents elderly people from undertaking physical activity may be the fear of activity, called kinesiophobia.

The aim of this project was to examine the frequency of kinesiophobia among Polish elderly patients with CAD and its potential conditions: sex, age, CAD duration, other diseases and chosen socio-demographic variables.

There have been 135 people examined: 59 women and 76 men in the 65-88 age range (average =71.88 years, SD=4.82). They were people diagnosed with stable CAD. The questionnaire form which was used collected information concerning the socio-demographical and physical activity data. And for kinesiophobia, there was Tampa Scale used, which is dedicated to examine cardiac patients - TSK heart.

Over 76% of examined patients had a high level of kinesiophobia (TSK>37 pt). Sex, age, BMI, CAD duration and the number of other diseases did not have any connection with neither PA nor TSK. Education was the only one, among the socio-demographic variables, which differentiated the kinesiophobia. Better educated people had a lower level of it.

Kinesiophobia is a common problem among the elderly people suffering from CAD. It is caused by a lack of physical activity which adversely predicts the progression of the disease. People with higher education are more rarely affected by kinesiophobia. CAD patients should be provided with knowledge and training concerning PA and there should be conditions created to enhance it.