Prevalência e fatores associados à fragilidade em idosos usuários da Estratégia Saúde da Família

Abstract

Introduction: The aging of the world population is a reality, especially in developing countries. Fragility is indicated as an important indicator of the health condition in the elderly, and its operational definition in this work had a multidimensional approach. Aim: To analyze the prevalence and factors associated with frailty in elderly users of the Family Health Strategy in the municipality of Várzea Grande, MT, from march to june 2016.. Methods: Cross-sectional epidemiological study with 377 individuals aged 60 years or older, living in Várzea Grande - MT. The instrument for data collection focused on questions about elderly identification and sociodemographic variables, and validated instruments which evaluated cognitive ability, functional capacity, emotional condition, nutritional risks, comorbidities, polypharmacy. The frailty were investigated through the Tilburg Frailty Indicator (TFI). Results: The estimated prevalence of frailty for the sample was 65.25%. Most individuals were female (60.21%), brown (58.89%); had a partner (married or stable union) (56.24%) and literate (71.62%). In multiple analysis only the variables marital status (divorced or separated, widowed or single), presence of depressive symptoms and severe depression, dependence on instrumental activities of daily living, nutritional status (malnutrition / risk of malnutrition) and comorbidities maintained a statistically significant association with frailty. Conclusion: The results of the present study indicated a high prevalence of fragility, emphasizing the importance in the knowledge of the elderly groups in order to stimulate preventive actions to minimize adverse outcomes in this population, such as hospitalization, falls, fractures and death.