Circunstâncias e fatores associados à queda em idosos residentes na comunidade

Abstract

Population aging during the twentieth century represented a relevant phenomenon because of its dispersion in the various regions of the world and the speed that was occurring, specifically, in countries with less economic development. Following this trend, the Brazilian population is also showing an accelerated aging. In 1970, in proportion to the total population, the elderly accounted for 4.95% and reached 8.47% in 1990, reaching a total of 11.3% in 2009, corresponding to over 21 million people. Projections indicate that by 2025, Brazil will have 27 million elderly people and will be the sixth oldest country in the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as the complete state of physical, mental and social well-being. In the context of health of the elderly, this term translates as being the ability of the individual to achieve their aspirations autonomously and independently. Among the challenges to be faced by health services and by the elderly themselves and their families, are the falls that, for this group, represent a major threat to their functionality due to the negative reflexes in important aspects, one of them being mobility. Thus, the objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence and characterize the episodes of falls in the elderly, with emphasis on identifying the circumstances and factors associated with falls in elderly residents in the community. This is a cross-sectional study with a simple random sample from the registry in the primary care network of the municipality of Pirapora in northern Minas Gerais. Demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the elderly were evaluated, as well as variables related to the risk of functional clinical vulnerability, correlated with health and characteristics of the episodes of falls in the last 12 months. Equilibrium tests were also measured: Semi Tandem, Alternate Step test, Seated to Standing test. The variables associated with the occurrence of falls were identified after multiple analysis using Poisson regression with robust variance. 367 Elderly were analyzed. The occurrence of falls was recorded by 37.6% of the group. The most frequent site was on public roads (50.7%), the main cause was tripping / slipping (62.3%). The variables live alone (p = 0.038; PR = 1.30 (95% CI: 1.021.67), not having own income (p = 0.042; RP = 1.41 (95% CI: 1.01-1 , 98) and having cognitive impairment (p = 0.021; PR = 1.20 (95% CI: 1.03-1.42) were associated with a higher risk of falls and completion of the alternating Step test at or above 10 seconds showed to be a protective factor (p = 0.004; PR = 0.79 (95% CI: 0.67-0.93). denote a lack of social support for the group, whether by family or society.