Association between levels of physical activity, sarcopenia, type 2 diabetes and the quality of life of elderly people in community dwellings in Lebanon

There is a lack of data from developing countries on the link between physical activity (PA) on health outcomes. This study examines the association between the level of PA and sarcopenia, cardiovascular risk factors (i.e., dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes (T2D), and cardiovascular diseases), and the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among elderly people, in community dwellings in Lebanon. In this cross-sectional, observational study, body composition, levels of PA, and the HRQoL of 243 elderly people living in community dwellings, are obtained. The participants are then categorized based on a PA cut-off point of 600 metabolic equivalent task minutes per week (MET-min/week). In our sample, the prevalence of physical inactivity, defined as performing less than 600 MET-min/week, is 51.44% (125/243 participants).They displayed a higher prevalence of sarcopenia (36.0% vs. 18.6%), T2D (39.6% vs. 21.1%), as well as a lower physical (65.67 ± 20.72 vs. 75.08 ± 17.29) and mental (67.58 ± 21.51 vs. 76.95 ± 17.16) HRQoL. On the other hand, regression analysis shows that an increased rate of PA to ≥600 MET-min/week is associated with a lower risk of T2D (OR = 0.43, 95% CI: 0.22–0.84, p = 0.013) and sarcopenia (OR= 0.40, 95% CI: 0.22–0.73, p = 0.003) by 60%, and higher scores of the physical (β = −7.65; −11.87, −3.43, p = 0.0004) and mental (β = −8.47; −13.08, −3.85, p = 0.0004) HRQoL by nearly eight points. Our results show a high prevalence of physical inactivity in Lebanese adults over the age of 60; however, an adequate level of PA among this population seemed to be associated with a lower risk of sarcopenia and T2D, as well as a better HRQoL. However, future longitudinal studies are still needed to clarify if intervention based on increasing levels of PA can determine improvement in these clinical outcomes. If this is shown to be the case, it emphasizes the importance of implementing strategies to increase physical activity within this population.