Health action with elderly communities of high vulnerability in belo horizonte: relevance and results

• Autor(a) principal: Thales Pardini Fagundes
• Data de Publicação: 2019
• Outros Autores: Otávio Vitório Alvarenga Pereira, Rafael Nogueira Gingold, Pedro Henrique Diniz Cunha, João Márcio Gomes de Faria, Luis Felipe Jose Ravic de Miranda, Carolina Belfort Resende Fonseca, Isabela Safar Paim, Larissa Amora Gomes, Letícia Utsch Araujo, Maria Isabel Menezes Guedes, Matheus Coelho Rocha, Matheus Lucas Vasconcelos Miranda, Monisi Peres Lopes
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UFMG
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/1843/58968
• topic: Public health surveillance; Elderly; Cardiovascular risk; Accidental falls; Social vulnerability areas; Public Health Surveillance; Elderly; Heart Disease Risk Factors; Accidental falls

Background: The knowledge of the epidemiological profile of the elderly population in areas of high socioeconomic vulnerability is essential for the diagnosis and the efficacy of care. Objective: This article aims to identify priorities for future interventions in small communities through one day evaluation of several measures of the elderly, such as blood pressure, capillary glycemia, Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), calf circumference and “get up and go” test, to obtain these patients’ risk of falling. From this, we intend to suggest a method that could be used in future similar events. Method: A cross-sectional evaluation was performed at FEMAM with the population over 65 years. The following variables were measured: age, vaccination status, smoking, alcoholism, height, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, waist circumference, calf circumference, and the “get up and go” test. Results: 46 elderly people took part in the activity. The mean value of systolic BP was 141.5±22.4 mmHg. The mean BMI and abdominal circumferences were 27.1±4.4 kg/ m² and 93±11cm, respectively. 18 patients were smokers or former smokers (39.1%) and alcohol abuse was reported in 16 patients (37.2%). The average time in the “get up and go” test was 14.1±4.3 seconds.Conclusion: This intervention has been considered an efficient method to determine the prevalence of risk factors for falling and cardiovascular outcomes. Thus, with the accomplishment of this joint effort, it was possible to get a better knowledge of the elderly of the community and their comorbidities. The results suggest that it is still necessary to carry out similar actions with a larger sample of elderly to validate our findings.