Equilíbrio corporal de idosos institucionalizados: caracterização e associações clínico-funcionais

Abstract

This research aimed to determine the social-demographic and clinic-functional profile for institutionalized old adults related to occurring of dizziness, besides valuing clinically and functionally the old adults that resides in Long Term Care Facilities. The sample was constituted from 98 long permanency resident old adults, being 32 male and 66 female, with age from 60 years old. As an exclusion criteria it was considered a high level of dementia. The social-demographic aspects variables considered were: gender, age, skin color, marital status, scholar, scholarship, time length of institutionalization and the functional clinical aspects: number and type of diseases, number and type of medicines, walking device use, fall occurrences, fractures on upper and lower body parts related to falls, sight and hearing subjective perception, frequency of physical activity; besides emotional issues. The occurrence of dizziness was evaluated by anamnesis and quantified by the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) and the evaluation of the functional capacity was made using the Katz protocol, test of Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Kendall protocol for the postural evaluation. As results 48,9% of the evaluated old adults presented dizziness; the disease average and medicines associated to dizziness was, respectively, 4,5 diseases and 7,8 medicines for each elder. The functional DHI scores were significantly higher for the old people that needed walking support, the ones that had fall and for the ones that presented anxiety. Most part of the old adults (48,9%) were independent to the completion of all daily life activities; 40,0% presented low performance related to SPPB; 72,4% presented risk of dementia considering the MMSE scores. The postural profile found was: head to the front, elevated shoulder, curved abdomen, flexed elbows, curved thorax, depressed thorax, altered upper back, flat lumbar, rotated pelvis , deformed knees, flat feet. It is concluded that the demographic profile of the institutionalized old adults women's, white, single, high average age, low educational level and less than five years of institutionalization. In relation to the clinical-functional profile the dizziness was mixed, with short-term changes, especially in the functional aspect of the DHI.