Correlation Between Physical Activity and Clinical Variables in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction

<div><p>Abstract Background: Physical activity reduces the risk of coronary heart disease, one of the leading causes of death in the world. Objectives: This study intends to correlate physical activity and clinical variables of the patients hospitalized in public hospitals of Santa Catarina after the first acute myocardial infarction. Methods: The selected patients answered a questionnaire on different clinical variables. Physical activity was measured using the Baecke's questionnaire. Data were tabulated and analyzed using the SPSS 13.0 for Windows software. Normality was assessed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Correlations between two quantitative variables were evaluated by Pearson's correlation. Values of p < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: The study showed a weak positive correlation between the Baecke score and years of schooling (r = 0.361; p = 0.001). There was a weak negative correlation between the Baecke score and the PHQ9 depression score (r = -0.252; p = 0.009). The study also showed a weak negative correlation between the PHQ9 depression score and the Mini Mental score (r = -0.258; p = 0.007), as well as a weak negative correlation between PHQ9 and schooling years with (r = -0.199, p = 0.039). Conclusions: There is a positive correlation between physical activity and years of schooling in hospitalized patients with first acute myocardial infarction. Negative correlations were found between physical activity and depression, between depression and the Mini-Mental State Examination, and between depression and years of schooling in these patients.</p>