Use of dietary supplements and associated factors in elderly from the Social Assistance Reference Centers in Porto Alegre, Brazil

• Autor(a) principal: Trombini, Elisandra
• Data de Publicação: 2016
• Outros Autores: Busnello, Fernanda Michielin
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: PAJAR - Pan American Journal of Aging Research
• Texto Completo: https://revistaseletronicas.pucrs.br/ojs/index.php/pajar/article/view/22599
• topic: Elderly; Dietary supplements; Nutritional status.; Idoso; Suplementos nutricionais; Estado nutricional.

Aims: Verify the frequency of use of food supplements and associated factors in elderly population registered in Social Work Reference Centers (CRAS)in Porto Alegre – Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Methods: Data collection was conducted through interviews with 86 elderly registered in CRAS and use ofstandardized questionnaire containing demographic, socioeconomic, health and dietary supplements information, besides the anthropometric measurementsof weight (kg). height (m), waist circumference (cm) and subsequent classification of the Body Mass Index and cardiovascular risk. Results: The average age was 72 years, more than half of seniors considered their health as regular, judged the quality of the diet as good and practiced physical activity,10,5% were smokers and 91,9% had chronic diseases. The prevalence of use of dietary supplements was 50,0% and the most widely used product is theCalcium Carbonate. Most supplements were prescribed by doctors, bought in pharmacies and the television was the main source of information cited.Conclusion: We conclude there is a high consumption of dietary supplements by the elderly, and that the main source of information on food products isthe television. Thus, there a need for improvement in communication between health professionals and elderly, providing adequate information on dietarysupplements and reducing risks to the health of the elderly.