Lifestyles and sociocultural factors among older adults in an urban-marginal community in Nuevo Chimbote, Peru, 2025

Abstract

Objective: To determine the relationship between lifestyles and sociocultural factors among older adults in Cerro Partido, an urban-marginal community in the Nuevo Chimbote district, Peru, for the year 2025. Materials and methods: A quantitative, non-experimental, observational, descriptive-correlational, prospective, and cross-sectional study was conducted. The sample consisted of 20 older adults, permanent residents of the Cerro Partido community, selected via non-probabilistic convenience sampling based on defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data collection was carried out through structured interviews using two validated instruments: a questionnaire on sociocultural factors in older adults (covering biological, cultural, and social dimensions) and the FANTASTIC questionnaire, which assesses lifestyle across 9 dimensions. Statistical analysis both descriptive and inferential (Pearson’s chi-squared test with a significance level of α = 0.05) was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics software, version 30.0. Results: Descriptively, 65.0% (n = 13) of the older adults had a "very healthy" lifestyle, and 35.0% (n = 7) had a "good" lifestyle; no participants fell into the categories of "adequate," "at-risk," or "unhealthy" (0.0%). Regarding the biosociocultural profile, the majority were male (60.0%), aged 64–69 (55.0%), had a primary education (85.0% comprising 60.0% who completed it and 25.0% who did not), were Catholic (85.0%), were married (75.0%), and had monthly incomes ranging between 500 and 2,000 soles (80.0%). From an inferential perspective, no statistically significant association was found between lifestyle and age (χ² = 10.476; p = 0.655), sex (χ² = 1.319; p = 0.251), educational level (χ² = 7.179; p = 0.066), marital status (χ² = 1.978; p = 0.372), economic income (χ² = 0.879; p = 0.644), or history of hospitalization (χ² = 11.569; p = 0.072). Conversely, religious affiliation was the only factor significantly associated with lifestyle (χ² = 6.555; p = 0.010): 76.5% of Catholic older adults exhibited a "very healthy" lifestyle, while 100.0% of Evangelical older adults fell into the "good" lifestyle category. Study conclusions: Older adults in the Cerro Partido community maintain healthy, albeit varied, lifestyles, regardless of age, sex, education, marital status, or income. Religious affiliation, however, served as a sociocultural determinant positively and significantly associated with the adoption of a "very healthy" lifestyle.