Disability and participation in active leisure activities: results from a Chilean population-based survey

Leisure activities are necessary to improve the quality of life and good health of the population. Some studies in developed countries have described that people with disabilities participate less in leisure activities. The aim of this study was to estimate the association between disability and participation in active leisure activities in the population aged 18 years or older in Chile, during 2015. An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the Chilean II National Survey on Disability (ENDISC II) 2015. The independent variable was disability, and the dependent variable was participation in active leisure activities in the last six months. Poisson regression models were developed and prevalence ratios (PR) and the 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were estimated. In total, 12,236 participants were included. Chileans with moderate and severe disability were less likely to participate in active leisure activities (PR = 0.96; 95%CI: 0.93-0.99 and PR = 0.78; 95%CI: 0.72-0.84, respectively), compared to Chileans without disability. When stratified by age group, this association remained significant only in those older than 45 years. In conclusion, people with disabilities in Chile participate less in active leisure activities compared to people without disabilities, although only if they are older than 45 years. Social recreation programs should prioritize the incorporation of older people with disabilities.