Objective:

To identify factors that determine the negative perception of the health of the Brazilian elderly, considering sociodemographic conditions, functional limitations and illness, patterns of utilization of health services and oral health condition.

Method:

A cross-sectional study with data from the National Health Survey (2013), involving 23,815 elderly persons was carried out. Once the database was treated, dimensionality reduction was performed using the Waikato Environment for Knowledge Analysis. The variables related to health perception were evaluated through logistic regression to measure the magnitude of the associations. Health perception and 36 independent variables were considered as outcome variables.

Results:

The variables most strongly related to the negative perception of the health of the elderly were illiteracy (OR=1.48), low educational level, total difficulty in performing instrumental activities of daily living (OR=2.04), impossibility of performing any activity (OR=3.20), presence of a diagnosis of physical or mental illness (OR=2.44), negative self-perception of oral health (OR=1.92), an increased need for health services in recent weeks (OR=1.16), medical visits and hospitalization in the last 12 months (OR=1.40).

Conclusion:

The use of multidimensional methodologies can identify the influence of determinants of a negative perception of health among Brazilian elderly persons, and can support the formulation of public health policies aimed at the elderly population.

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