Health status and lifestyles among portuguese elderly people: What has changed in 7 years?

Health status and lifestyles among portuguese elderly people: What has changed in 7 years?

Journal Article

2013

Arquivos de Medicina

27

6

242 - 247

2013

08713413 (ISSN)

aiM Of the study: This study aims to compare health and lifestyle indicators, similarly assessed, in the last two National Health Surveys (NHS) regarding the elderly population. MethOds: We used data collected in the last two NHS, carried out in 1998/1999 and in 2005/2006. Te variables compared between the two periods were: self-perception of health, prevalence of some chronic diseases (self-reported), health services use, smoking, alcohol intake and number of daily meals. Results: Along these seven years, we observed an increase in the proportion of elderly who rated their health as good or very good (10.6% vs. 13.8%). A slight decrease in the pro- portion of elderly who attended ≥3 medical appointments in the trimester previous to the interview (29.4% vs. 25.2%) and an increase in the proportion of elderly who attended an oral care appointment within the last year (29.7% vs. 34.1%) were noticed. regarding chronic diseases, we observed increments of 10%, 3% and 4% in the hypertension (HT), diabetes (DM) and obesity prevalence, respectively. Concerning lifestyles, it is important to highlight a decrease of 50% in the smokers' proportion and an increase of 25% in the proportion of elderly who reported eating ≥2 times between principal meals. Conclusion: Along these seven years, it was observed an increase in the prevalence of HT, DM and obesity but, simultaneously, an improvement of the self-perception of health status of the Portuguese elderly population, particularly among those who are ≥85 years old, a positive aspect to register as a consequence of the implementation of specific measures in this field.