Fragilidade em idosos brasileiros: perfil de risco de uma população da cidade do Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

Introduction: the ageing population has a great impact on the health services. The application of a questionnaire that identifies, in a fast, simple and low cost way, at the public or private health services, individuals who have increased risk of hospitalization, mortality and disability in order to direct them more quickly to specialized service (in this case in geriatrics), finds wide application as hierarquizador of this demand. Such a tool can be applied in a flexible and practical way by trained personnel in different health care environments. Objective: to determine the risk profile and factors associated with frailty in elderly community residents, using the screening instrument Probability of repeated admissions-Pra. Methods: population: individuals aged 65 or over, resident in the northern districts of the city of Rio de Janeiro and clients of a health care provider. Design: cross-sectional study, the baseline of a population cohort, comprised of 847 individuals. Data collection was by household interviews. The sample was stratified into risk levels, by calculating the probability of repeated hospitalizations. Besides the descriptive study, there were analysis of association between Pra and a set of sociodemographic, health status, functional and cognitive variables, through contingency tables. Results: 6.7% of the elderly were classified as high risk for repeated hospitalization. This subgroup was characterized by having a more advanced age, to be higher users of health services, have a greater prevalence of cancer, falls and fractures, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Exhibit greater dependence for activities of daily living, worse mobility, worse assessment of mood and cognition. No relationship was found between reduction of muscular strength and risk of hospitalization.