O envelhecimento populacional e o perfil epidemiológico dos idosos no Brasil

Abstract

Aging is a natural and multifactorial process, characterized by physical, psychological and social changes that affect, in different ways, each individual, concerning different geographical regions. The aging population in developed countries has appeared slowly, in a situation of economic evolution, raising the level of well-being and the of reduce social inequality. In developing countries, including Brazil and other Latin American countries, this phenomenon occurs more intensively. This work intends to be a review of critic literature that emphazises online research, which were consulted in Lilacs and Scielo’s databases in Portuguese, in the period 1993 to 2008, by using the following keywords: epidemiology, socio-demographic profile, aging, elderly population and health. 20 items were found, after reading the abstracts, and five were selected for this study. The results showed that the proportion of elderly will double until 2050, reaching 15% of the total population and showed a high prevalence of chronic degenerative diseases associated with psychosocial variables. In conclusion, our data indicate that the brazilian population is aging rapidly, and society must broaden the debate on demographic transition and the consequent epidemiological transition, evaluating alternatives that allow to minimize their impact on quality of life.