Prevalência de quedas em idosos no Brasil: análise com dados da pesquisa nacional de saúde, 2019.

Abstract

Introduction: Falls in elderly people are recurrent events, consisting of the unintentional displacement of the body to a lower level than the initial position. The causes are usually multifactorial, and these events can trigger functional limitations or even death. Such events subsequent to the occurrence of falls affect individuals, interfering with their physical, emotional, financial and family well-being. Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of falls among elderly people in Brazil, according to sociodemographic Methods: Cross-sectional, descriptive study, with secondary data from the National Health Survey, 2019. The sample consisted of 22,728 elderly people selected by simple random sampling in all states of Brazil. Data collection took place in the period 2019 and 2020, through a questionnaire applied by agents of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). The occurrence of falls was assessed in the last 12 months prior to data collection. Descriptive analyzes were performed, in which simple frequency and percentage measures were used, with respective 95% Confidence Intervals. Results: The self-reported prevalence of falls in the elderly population in Brazil was 15.5% (95%CI: 14.8 - 16.4), with 18.9% being higher among females (95%CI: 17.8 - 20.1) , in the highest age groups (80 years or older) 23.5% (95%CI: 21.0-26.1), among elderly people with low socioeconomic status 16.3% (95%CI: 15.8-17.5 ), low education 16.9%, (95%CI: 16.0-17.9), in those with multimorbidity 20.7%, (95%CI: 19.5-22.0), difficulties in performing Basic Activities of Daily Life (ADL) with 31.5% (95%CI: 27.9-35.3) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) 30.7% (95%CI: 28.4-33.0). There was also a higher prevalence of falls among elderly people in the Northeast with 17.9% (95%CI: 16.5- 19.4). Among elderly people who suffered falls, 6.4% (95%CI: 4.7-8.6) had a hip or femur fracture, where 50.9% (95%CI: 36.0-65.6) needed surgery fracture related. Conclusion: Approximately, 16 out of every 100 elderly people suffered falls in this research, which demonstrates that these events are frequent in this population. In addition, elderly women and octogenarians, with multimorbidity, as well as elderly people with low socioeconomic levels, less education and with functional disabilities, may be more vulnerable to these events and should be targets of public policies and educational measures and professional interventions. of health. Therefore, it is necessary to implement public policies and expand existing ones to ensure healthy and active aging. In addition, expanding access to health services for the entire population, especially adults and the elderly, is essential, in order to enhance primary, secondary and tertiary prevention actions, aiming to raise awareness about improvements in lifestyle across the board. and not just in the oldest age groups, in order to provide autonomy and quality of life, a posteriori, in old age.