Resumen
El envejecimiento poblacional en entornos rurales incrementa el riesgo de dependencia funcional y deterioro cognitivo, lo que exige identificar marcadores tempranos modificables dentro de la práctica clínica comunitaria. El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar la relación bidireccional entre la función cognitiva, los índices de masa muscular esquelética y el nivel de ejercicio físico en adultos mayores residentes en comunidades rurales de Ecuador. Se realizó un estudio transversal con 316 participantes (99 hombres y 217 mujeres) mayores de 65 años, evaluando la composición corporal mediante bioimpedancia eléctrica, la función cognitiva con el Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) en español y el nivel de actividad física a través de la subescala de ejercicio del instrumento PEPS-I. Los datos se analizaron mediante correlación de Spearman y modelos de regresión logística binaria ajustados por factores sociodemográficos y de salud basal. Se encontró una correlación significativa entre el ejercicio y el MMSE (r?=?0.225; p?<?.001). Un bajo nivel de ejercicio predijo mayor riesgo de deterioro cognitivo (OR?=?2.41; IC 95%: 1.56-3.83), mientras que el deterioro cognitivo predijo bajo nivel de actividad física (OR?=?2.40; IC 95%: 1.57-3.94). No se hallaron asociaciones significativas entre los índices de masa muscular y la función cognitiva. Se concluye que existe una clara relación bidireccional entre el declive cognitivo y la baja actividad física en adultos mayores rurales, destacando la necesidad de intervenciones clínicas integrales que aborden simultáneamente ambos dominios para preservar la autonomía funcional en esta población vulnerable.
Citas
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Derechos de autor 2026 Trancito Nube Quizhpilema Pichazaca, Francy Hollminn Salas Contreras, Ruth Cecilia Allaico Muyudumbay
