Autopercepção de saúde e síndrome da fragilidade em idosas da comunidade

Abstract

Fragility is a multifactorial condition characterized by increased vulnerability to adverse events. Self-perception of health has been strongly pointed out as a consistent predictor of mortality among the elderly. However, few studies have investigated their relationship to the fragility syndrome. The objective of the study was to compare the self-perception of the health of the elderly in the community between the levels of fragility (non-fragile, pre-fragile and fragile). It is an observational, cross-sectional study with a sample of 449 elderly women with mean age of 70.69 years (SD = 4.74). Fragility was assessed by the following components: unintentional weight loss in the previous year; exhaustion; Reduction of palmar grip strength; Low level of physical activity and slow gait, with Fragile (three or more components), Prefragile (one or two components) and Non-Fragile (no component) classifications. Self-perception of health was assessed by the question: "In general, how do you assess your health?" And "How is your health compared to other people your age?" With "bad", "More or less" or "good". Kruskal Wallis and Mann Whitney tests were used to analyze the variables ( = 5%). The results demonstrated a significant difference in the self-perception of health among levels of fragility. Fragile elderly patients presented worse self-perception of health in relation to pre-frail elderly women and to non-frail elderly women. Similarly, pre-frail elderly women reported worse perception compared to non-fragile women. Regarding self-perceived health, older women considered fragile presented poorer health perception than pre-frail and non-frail elderly women. However, there was no difference between pre-frail and non-frail elderly women. Self-perception of health was distinct among the three levels of fragility, reinforcing that this measure may indicate worse health clinical conditions. These results suggest that health self-perception can be used as a simple screening tool for identifying and targeting more specific evaluations for elderly women with a pessimistic perception of their own health.