A saúde mental e a qualidade de vida dos octogenários do município de Dois Irmãos, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil

Abstract

Introduction: In the global scenario of aging population, the individuals over 80 years old are the fastest growing age group. Octogenarians are the age group that has the highest incidence of dementia, the main mental health problem of elderly, with a big impact in the life quality of this population. Methods: Cross-observational study in a population of elderly, between 80 and 89 years old, by the application of a data collection instrument, containing socioeconomic, demographic and clinical information. The diagnosis evaluation of dementia was done by the Mini Exam of Mental State and the life quality evaluation by the WHOQOL-Bref. Results: 104 elderly (W-66/M-38) mostly white-skinned (91.3%) were interviewed. Most of elderly people are physically inactive (53.8%), do not participate in social activities (51.9%) and have hypertension (62.5%). The prevalence of dementia was 48.1%, that shows relation with the decreased quality of life (p = 0.012). Discussion: This study confirms the data, that there is a relation between the dementia diagnosis and a lower life quality, that shows the importance of working proactively on the risk situations. Mainly in those elderly with a higher risk of dementia that can be prevented (cardiovascular risk factors to dementia such as hypertension).