The objective of this study was to identify the health conditions considered potential risk factors for severe Covid-19 and analyze its association with the BMI of elderly people living in Long-Term Care Facilities (LTCF). This is a descriptive and cross-sectional study, with a quantitative approach, carried out in eight LTCF in the Metropolitan Region of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, with a population of 267 elderly people, between the months of February and December 2018. The Elderly Health Handbook was used to collect data on sociodemographic, health and risk factors. The Pearson’s Chi-square test and odds ratio were used for the analysis. A higher frequency of low weight was observed in elderly people with cognitive impairment (24.6%), and overweight in those hypertensive (23.3%) and diabetics (12.9%). BMI was associated with the age group of 80 years or over, hypertension and diabetes (p = 0.013; p < 0.001; p = 0.001). Hypertensive elderly people were more likely to have low weight when compared to non-hypertensive individuals (RC = 3.6; 95% CI 1.5–8.6). The institutionalized elderly individuals present health conditions that may contribute to the occurrence of adverse outcomes in case of infection by Covid-19. The importance of protective measures for this population must be reinforced, in view of the devastating action of this disease in these institutions.

Introduction/Objective: Falls affect approximately 30% of the older adult population. We aimed to compare the associations between fall risk and different multidimensional health aspects among older adults receiving care in the Brazilian Primary Health Care (PHC) system. Method: Cross-sectional, quantitative study involving older adults from PHC. The Fall Risk Score, Mini Nutritional Assessment, Mini-Mental State Examination, Edmonton Frail Scale, Barthel Index, Lawton & Brody Scale, and Medical Outcomes Study Questionnaire Short Form was used to measure the variables of interest. Correlation analyses and binary logistic regression were also employed. Results: A total of n = 257 individuals participated, of whom n = 102 (39.7%) were with risk for falls. Preserved cognition, absence of frailty, and better functionality levels were identified as protective factors against fall risk through association and correlation analyses. The binary logistic regression analysis found that the factors contributing most to the reduction of fall risk were higher nutritional scores, better cognitive function, preserved functionality (BADL and IADL), and the functional domain of quality of life (QoL). Conclusion: Better nutritional status, cognition, functionality, and QoL were associated with a lower risk of falls. Although frailty exhibited similar results, it did not stand out equally as a contributing factor to fall risk.

Our aim was to analyze the association between socioeconomic status and quality of life (QoL) among older people with depressive symptoms treated through the Primary Health Care (PHC) system in Brazil and Portugal. This was a comparative cross-sectional study with a nonprobability sample of older people in the PHC in Brazil and Portugal conducted between 2017 and 2018. To evaluate the variables of interest, the socioeconomic data questionnaire, the Geriatric Depression Scale and the Medical Outcomes Short-Form Health Survey were used. Descriptive and multivariate analyses were performed to test the study hypothesis. The sample consisted of n = 150 participants (Brazil n = 100 and Portugal n = 50). There was a predominance of woman (76.0%, p = 0.224) and individuals between 65 and 80 years (88.0%, p = 0.594). The multivariate association analysis showed that in the presence of depressive symptoms, the QoL mental health domain was most associated with the socioeconomic variables. Among the prominent variables, woman group (p = 0.027), age group 65–80 years (p = 0.042), marital status “without a partner” (p = 0.029), education up to 5 years (p = 0.011) and earning up to 1 minimum wage (p = 0.037) exhibited higher scores among brazilian participants. The portuguese participants showed an association between the general health status domain and woman group (p = 0.042) and education up to 5 years (p = 0.045). The physical functioning domain was associated with income of up to 1 minimum wage (p = 0.037). In these domains, the portuguese participants exhibited higher scores than the brazilian participants. We verified the association between socioeconomic profile and QoL in the presence of depressive symptoms, which occurred mainly among woman, participants with low levels of education and low income, with QoL aspects related to mental, physical and social health and self-perceived health. The group from Brazil had higher QoL scores than the group from Portugal.

To investigate the predictive relationships between frailty, nutritional factors, and Quality of Life (QoL) on the vulnerability of older adults enrolled in Primary Health Care (PHC) in an urban area. This was a cross‐sectional study conducted with community‐dwelling older adults. Participants receiving care in PHC in two Brazilian municipalities located in a sparsely populated region were recruited. The instruments used were Vulnerable Elders Survey (VES‐13), Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), Edmonton Frailty Scale (EFS), and Medical Outcomes Study Short Form‐36 (SF‐36). Association analyses, Spearman's correlation, and binary logistic regression were used. A total of 323 individuals were included. Binary logistic regression revealed frailty (EFS) as the main predictor of vulnerability ( R ² = 0.20; p < 0.001; OR = 1.35 [95% CI: 1.24–1.48]), with functional independence ( R ² = 0.25; p < 0.001; OR = 3.9 [95% CI: 2.74–5.73]) and functional performance ( R ² = 0.17; p < 0.001; OR = 3.21 [95% CI: 2.21–4.67]) being the domains that most strongly increased the odds of vulnerability. Impaired nutrition showed a consistent predictive association ( R ² = 0.11; p < 0.001; OR = 0.82 [95% CI: 0.76–0.89]). Frailty and poor nutritional status were predictors of vulnerability, with particular emphasis on physical‐functional aspects. QoL showed a moderate to strong correlation with vulnerability, especially in the physical domains.

Objetivo: Identificar na literatura científica os principais fatores associados a quedas em pessoas idosas hospitalizadas. Método: Estudo de revisão integrativa da literatura, com buscas nas bases de dados: MedLine via BVS, PubMed, SciELO, Web of Science, Scopus e LILACS. Das 2.969 publicações identificadas, 11 foram incluídas na amostra final deste estudo. Foi construído um modelo teórico para fundamentação da análise crítica e apresentação dos dados. Este estudo considerou como evidência, os fatores que apresentaram associação ou risco para ocorrência de quedas em idosos hospitalizados. Resultados: Os fatores associados a ocorrência de quedas em pacientes idosos hospitalizados foram classificados em intrínsecos e extrínsecos. Os principais fatores intrínsecos identificados foram: 1) declínio funcional, delirium, histórico de quedas e idade avançada; e os extrínsecos: internação em enfermaria cirúrgica e o uso de depressores do sistema nervoso central, mais precisamente sedativos e antipsicóticos. Observou-se que estes fatores se apresentam de forma associada na população estudada. Conclusão: Os estudos evidenciaram os fatores intrínsecos como os principais fatores de risco para ocorrência de quedas em idosos hospitalizados. Porém, observa-se sua associação com os fatores extrínsecos e a complexidade deste evento. Dessa forma, estes achados evidenciam a importância da avaliação multidimensional do idoso hospitalizado, a adoção de estratégias para prevenção de quedas e intervenção oportuna sobre os fatores modificáveis, propiciando uma maior segurança do paciente idoso no ambiente hospitalar.

This study aimed to evaluate the association between muscle mass and vulnerability in institutionalized older adults. A cross-sectional study was carried out in eight philanthropic Long-Term Care Facilities (LTCF) located in the metropolitan area of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. The participants were individuals aged 60 years or older who were present in the institutions at the time of data collection. To assess muscle mass, the calf circumference was categorized into loss of muscle mass (<31 cm) and preserved muscle mass (≥31 cm). The vulnerability was assessed by The Vulnerable Elders Survey (VES-13). Of the 250 older adults evaluated, 46.1% presented loss of muscle mass, which was associated with the presence of physical limitation, vulnerability, and age group (p < 0.05). The presence of vulnerability was the main factor contributing to loss of muscle mass (R² = 8.8%; B = 0.781; 95% CI 0.690–0.884; p < 0.001). Loss of muscle mass is associated with disability in institutionalized older adults.