Physical Activity, Nutritional Status, and Cardiovascular Disease Prevalence in Geriatric Outpatients: A Cross-sectional Study in Swabi

Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of death among older people worldwide. Cardiovascular risk is high in the elderly, with modifiable risk factors including inactivity and poor diet. Objectives: To evaluate geriatric physical activity, nutritional status (Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA)), cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevalence, and to explore the association between physical activity and nutrition with cardiovascular risk. Methodology: A cross-sectional study included 150 geriatrics. A structured questionnaire using a WHO aligned physical activity assessment tool (GPAQ) and the validated six-item MNA screening tool. Statistical analysis was done with IBM SPSS 22.0. Results: Among the participants, 56.7% were physically inactive, while 43.3% were active. CVD was present in 50.7% of participants. The mean MNA score was 8.83+/-1.98, indicating that a substantial proportion of participants were at risk of malnutrition. Physically active individuals demonstrated significantly lower odds of CVD compared with inactive participants (OR = 0.42, 95% Cl: 0.21 0.84, p = 0.014). Nutritional risk was also significantly associated with increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Physical inactivity and nutritional vulnerability are highly prevalent in this geriatric cohort and are significantly associated with CVD. 58% lower odds of CVD (OR=0.42, 95% CI: 0.21 0.84), though the wide interval precludes a precise estimate of effect magnitude. Keywords: Physical activity, cardiovascular diseases, geriatric, malnutrition, Physical inactivity, Mini Nutritional Assessment, Pakistan, Cross-sectional study.