[Sedentary behavior and association with multimorbidity and patterns of multimorbidity in elderly Brazilians: data from the Brazilian National Health Survey, 2019].

Sedentary behavior emerges as an important determinant of health in elderly persons, but its relationship to multimorbidity and its patterns in the Brazilian population have received little attention in epidemiological studies. Such associations can assist the elaboration of public policies aimed at modification of this behavior. This study thus aimed to assess the association between sedentary behavior and multimorbidity and its patterns in elderly Brazilians. This was a cross-sectional study of 43,554 elderly Brazilians in the Brazilian National Health Survey, 2019. Self-reported SB was categorized as < 3; 3-6; and > 6 hours a day. The presence of multimorbidity and its patterns were analyzed by self-report of two or more chronic diseases, where the three established patterns considered the diseases with similar clinical characteristics: (1) cardiopulmonary; (2) vascular-metabolic; and (3) mental-musculoskeletal. The associations were measured by binary logistic regression. Elderly persons that spent 3-6 hours/day in sedentary behavior had lower odds (OR = 1.39; 95%CI: 1.29; 1.50) of presenting multimorbidity, vascular-metabolic pattern (OR = 1.39; 95%CI: 1.29; 1.50), and mental-musculoskeletal pattern (OR = 1.11; 95%CI: 1.00; 1.24). Sedentary behavior > 6 hours/day was associated with higher odds of multimorbidity (OR = 1.58; 95%CI: 1.43; 1.74) and the cardiopulmonary (OR = 1.73; 95%CI: 1.33; 2.27), vascular-metabolic (OR = 1.49; 95%CI: 1.35; 1.64), and mental-musculoskeletal (OR = 1.15; 95%CI: 1.01; 1.31) patterns when compared to elders with 3 hours/day of sedentary behavior. This showed that extensive time in sedentary behavior is a relevant risk factor for multimorbidity and its patterns in the elderly.