Socio-demographic and health characteristics of elderly individuals: support for health services1

This is a sectional epidemiological study including a household survey. It describes the socio-demographic and health conditions of elderly individuals residing in Guarapuava, PR, Brazil. The study’s sample consisted of 359 elderly individuals enrolled in primary health care units in the city. Interviews were conducted from January to April 2010 using sections I and II of the Brazil Old Age Schedule questionnaire. The results revealed that most interviewees were women (64.3%), health self-perception was considered ‘good’ by 54.6%, and the most prevalent diseases were hypertension (34.9%), diabetes mellitus (12,4%) and arthritis/arthrosis (12.2%). Most elderly individuals use dental prostheses (74.4%) and 56.5% wear glasses or contact lenses. The conclusion is that knowledge concerning the social, demographic, and health profiles of these individuals favors the implementation of actions specific to this age group by health providers, and helps managers to develop health indicators.


Discussion
Among the study's, results the greater percentage of women (64.4%) stands out. It may be related to the greater life expectancy of women in relation to men and confirms the view related to the feminization of aging, which has been attributed to less exposure on the part of women to certain risk factors compared to men, such as those found in the work environment, a lower prevalence of smoking and alcohol consumption, differences related to attitude in the face of diseases and disabilities, and greater coverage of gynecology-obstetric care (7)(8) .
We observed that 21.6% of the elderly women do for health services (9) . Data from the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD) reveal that 9.4% of 60 to 64 years old Brazilian individuals are illiterate and this percentage reaches 29.4% of those 65 years old or older (2) .
Widowed women predominated (43.7%), which may be explained by the fact that elderly women were also the majority of participants in this study, due to their greater life expectancy. Another explanation is that widowed men usually find another partner, especially in advanced age (10) . Most women, once they became widowed, live by themselves, as seen in a study conducted in Korean communities, which reported 10 widowed men and 87 widowed women out of 97 elderly individuals living in 32 rural communities. The deaths of their husbands was the reason these women lived alone, which is a phenomenon with characteristics common to other communities from different countries (11) .
A total of 32.5% of women and 23.4% of men still have a paid job in addition to their retirement. Having an income reflects a positive and relevant aspect of active aging. It contributes to the family income and the elderly individual has financial autonomy in relation to health, social and eating needs (12) .
Hypertension, diabetes and arthritis/arthrosis were the most common diseases, which confirms observations from previous studies addressing the elderly population (13)(14) .  (15) .
Despite the large literature reporting the benefits of controlling diabetes, American population surveys report an increase in the prevalence of diabetes and a decline in glycemic control in this population from 1988 to 2000 (16) .
Arthritis or arthrosis is the main cause of impairment in the American population and its prevalence is expected to increase with population aging (17) .
In Brazil, despite its high prevalence among the elderly population, arthritis is not one of the priorities of public health. Its inclusion in the public health agenda is recommended in order to improve the diagnosis and implementation of educational programs emphasizing self-care intended to prevent impairment (18) .
In relation to the use of an aid device, this study revealed a large number of elderly individuals using glasses (56.5%) and dental prostheses (74.4%). Devices used to help people with some level of dependency, whether it is oral, visual, or auditory or concerning mobility are important to ensure one's autonomy and independence. The prescription of appropriate devices to aid elderly individuals who experience some level of dependency is essential to promoting and preserving their functional capacity (19) .
Health self-perception is a strong indicator concerning the health of elderly individuals because it consistently predicts the survival of this population (13) .
Studies show that a 'good' health self-perception is one of the most reported indicators (20)(21) . In Guarapuava, 54.6% of the interviewees reported 'good' health and 31.5% reported 'poor' health. In the context of health, The studies' findings related to oral health also suggest that currently there is a lack of public health policies related to oral health accessible to this age group. There is a lack of information for this population concerning the benefits of oral rehabilitation, oral hygiene, and the importance of periodic visits to the dentist (24) .