Posture maintenance capacity in different functional activities of hypertensive and non-hypertensive elderly

Objective: To compare static and dynamic posture maintenance capacity in functional activities between hypertensive and non-hypertensive elderly individuals. Methods: This study was held with participation of individuals aged 60 years or older, coming from a Basic Health Unit (BHU) in a small municipality in the north of the Piauí State. The posture maintenance capacity was assessed through the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test; the static balance, by means of the Functional Reach Test (FRT); and the muscle strength (MS) of the lower limbs, through the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) test. The elderly were divided into: group HAS (hypertensive) and control group (non-hypertensive). The data was analyzed with use of the Graph Pad Prism Software, and unpaired Student’s t-test was applied for identification of differences between the groups. Results: Of the 88 volunteers, 43 belong to the hypertensive group and 45 to the control group. For the FRT, group HAS had a mean functional reach measuring 15 (±5.60) centimeters, while the control group had an average of 17 (±5.88) centimeters. In the SPPB test, the mean MS for group HAS was 17.67 (±6.46) seconds and, for the control group, it was 17.01 (±3.53) seconds. The mean TUG for group HAS was 14.03 (±2.95) seconds and, for the control group, it was 12.41 (±3.90) seconds. There were associations between groups HAS and Control for FRT (p=0.03) and SPPB (p=0.02). Conclusion: Systemic arterial hypertension seems to interfere with static posture maintenance in the elderly.