HYDROGYMNASTICS: AN ASSESSMENT OF ITS BENEFITS ON ANXIETY DISORDERS IN THE ELDERLY

Abstract

AGING IS A NATURAL PROCESS OF THE HUMAN BEING, WHICH OCCURS PROGRESSIVELY AND BRINGS SEVERAL CHANGES, THESE BEING PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL, AND THROUGH THIS PROCESS CAN GENERATE CHANGES IN EVERYDAY LIFE THAT CAN BE A RISK FACTOR FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOME PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDER SUCH AS ANXIETY. THUS, IT IS CLEAR THAT THIS EMOTIONAL BREAKDOWN INTERFERES WITH THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF THE ELDERLY, AS IT LEADS TO A BEHAVIORAL CHANGE THAT OFTEN RESULTS IN SOCIAL ISOLATION, OPENING THE WAY FOR OTHER DISORDERS. IN THIS WAY, IT IS UNDERSTOOD THAT ANXIETY DISORDERS ARE ONE OF THE ONES THAT MOST AFFECT THE ELDERLY BECAUSE THEY ARE OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH A DISEASE THAT HARMS THEIR MENTAL HEALTH. IN ADDITION, ANXIETY IS AMONG THE TEN CAUSES OF DISABILITY IN THE ELDERLY IN THE WORLD, SO SEVERAL STUDIES HAVE FOUND IN THE PRACTICE OF PHYSICAL EXERCISES, FOR EXAMPLE WATER AEROBICS, AN EFFICIENT THERAPY FOR THE TREATMENT, WATER AEROBICS. THUS, THE FOLLOWING STUDY AIMS TO IDENTIFY THE PRESENCE OF ANXIETY IN THE ELDERLY PARTICIPANTS OF THE UNIVERSIDADE ABERTA DA PESSOA IDOSA (UNIAPI) OF THE EVANGELICAL UNIVERSITY OF GOI�S - UNIEVANG�LICA, WHO ARE PART OF THE WEEKLY HYDROGYMNASTICS GROUP, AND TO EVALUATE THE BENEFITS GENERATED BY WATER AEROBICS. IN THE FACE OF THIS EMOTIONAL UPHEAVAL. IN ADDITION, THIS WORK CONSISTS OF A QUALITATIVE CROSS-SECTIONAL OBSERVATIONAL STUDY, OF THE DESCRIPTIVE AND ANALYTICAL TYPE, PERFORMED AT THE UNIVERSIDADE ABERTA A PESSOA IDOSA (UNIAPI) OF THE EVANGELICAL UNIVERSITY OF GOI�S - UNIEVANG�LICA, WITH A POPULATION SAMPLE OF 46 PARTICIPANTS ENROLLED IN THE HYDROGYMNASTICS PROGRAM OF THE UNIAPI, ESTABLISHING THE FOLLOWING INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA: ALL SENIORS SHOULD PARTICIPATE IN THE UNIAPI WATER AEROBICS COURSE; THOSE WHO REFUSED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE RESEARCH AND WHO DID NOT HAVE 100% ATTENDANCE IN AUGUST 2022 WOULD NOT BE COUNTED. AS FOR DATA COLLECTION, IT WOULD BE DONE THROUGH THE APPLICATION OF PHYSICAL QUESTIONNAIRES WITH THE HAD SCALE - ANXIETY LEVEL ASSESSMENT AND DEPRESSION, CARRIED OUT TWICE IN AUGUST, HOWEVER, BEFORE STARTING THE RESEARCH, THE SUBMISSION WAS MADE TO THE ETHICS AND RESEARCH COMMITTEE - UNIEVANG�LICA AND THE PARTICIPANTS HAD TO SIGN THE FREE AND INFORMED CONSENT TERM (FICT). AS FOR DATA STORAGE, THESE WERE ORGANIZED THROUGH SPREADSHEETS, WITH ONLY THE RESEARCHERS AND THE SUPERVISOR HAVING ACCESS, AND ALL DOCUMENTS AFTER A PERIOD OF FIVE YEARS WILL BE DESTROYED IN ORDER TO GUARANTEE GREATER SECURITY AND PRIVACY FOR THOSE SURVEYED, SINCE THIS WOULD BE ONE OF THE RISKS PRESENTED. THUS, AFTER APPLYING THE QUESTIONNAIRES, THE FOLLOWING RESULTS WERE FOUND REGARDING THE PRESENCE OF ANXIETY IN THE ELDERLY: 22 UNLIKELY CASES (47.8%), 20 POSSIBLE CASES (43.5%) AND 4 PROBABLE CASES (8.7%). AFTER PHYSICAL EXERCISE, 31 UNLIKELY CASES (67.4%), 13 POSSIBLE CASES (28.2%) AND 2 PROBABLE CASES (4.4%) WERE REPORTED. IT CAN BE OBSERVED, THEN, THAT THERE WAS AN IMPROVEMENT IN ANXIETY RATES AFTER PARTICIPATING IN WATER AEROBICS FOR 30 DAYS, EXEMPLIFIED BY A 20% INCREASE IN UNLIKELY CASES OF ANXIETY ASSOCIATED WITH A 50% REDUCTION IN PROBABLE CASES. IN THIS WAY, BASED ON THE RESULTS FOUND AND ON THE LITERATURE, IT CAN BE OBSERVED THAT THERE WAS A REDUCTION IN ANXIETY SYMPTOMS AFTER PERFORMING WEEKLY PHYSICAL EXERCISES IN THE ELDERLY AT UNIAPI, THIS FACT BEING CLARIFIED IN THE APPLICATION OF THE HAD SCALE. THEREFORE, THE REGULAR PRACTICE OF HYDROGYMNASTICS CAN BE A COMPLEMENTARY THERAPY THAT ACTS AS A SYNERGIST TO THE TRADITIONAL TREATMENT OF ANXIETY DISORDERS.