We present a study of the relation between the solar magnetic activity (centered in sunspots, flares types N and B, and long-duration X class flares) and the counting rates of particles in interplanetary space with energies below 1.6 MeV obtained from the Low-Energy Proton Experiment (DFH-EPAS) onboard International Sun-Earth Explorer spacecraft, during the period 1978--1982. Our study shows that the particle counting rates are neither correlated with sunspots number nor with flares type N, but they are correlated with flares type B and mainly with long-duration X class flares. The origin of the low counting rates of particles detected during the years 1979--1980 is investigated as well. The disappearance of the strongest interplanetary shocks during that period can explain this phenomenon, at least within the energy range studied. The absence of any anomalous behavior in the flares type B and in the long-duration X class flares during this period suggests that this shock behavior can be produced by anomalous conditions of the interplanetary magnetic field during the Sun's polar magnetic field reversal.¿ 1997 American Geophysical Union