Alzheimer's disease: a diagnostic profile within the family health strategy

• Autor(a) principal: Filho,Ronaldo Pontes Barreira
• Data de Publicação: 2013
• Outros Autores: Neto,Luís de França Camboim, Maia,Carla Soraya Costa
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Geriatrics, Gerontology and Aging (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://ggaging.com/details/123
• topic: Disease, Alzheimer, elderly, Family Health strategy.

<p><b>OBJECTIVE:</b> The present study aimed to evaluate the condition of an elderly population included in the Family Health Program regarding the incidence of the disease.<br> <b>METHODS:</b> A hundred eighteen elderly people were evaluated at Rebou&ccedil;as Macambira Family Healthcare Center; they were divided into age groups of 60-70 years old, 71-80 years old, and above 80 years old, within April-May 2008. The research was conducted through a clinical review, followed by a basic physical examination, extra laboratory tests available at the Unified Health System (SUS), and questionnaires, which gave information about the mental state, cognition, temporal and spatial orientation of each patient. Immediate memory, recall memory, reasoning ability, judgement, attention to language and calculations, mood and behavior changes were features evaluated.<br> <b>RESULTS:</b> In the group studied it was observed that, among the elderly people aged 60 to 70 years, 7.7% had a probable diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, 30.7%, a possible diagnosis; among the elderly in the range of 71 to 80, 23% had probable diagnosis, and 23% had a possible diagnosis. Among the group of patients over 80 years old, 36.3% had a diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's disease and to 27.4%, possible diagnosis.<br> <b>CONCLUSION:</b> The number of cases of this disease increased with age, and the number of cases of patients not suffering from Alzheimer's disease decreased with age.</p>