Objective: To estimate the prevalence and self-reported socio-demographic and health factors associated with functional disability in basic and instrumental activities of daily living among the elderly. Method: A cross-sectional study was carried out, based on a representative sample of elderly people receiving care at a reference unit in the north of the state of Minas Gerais. The data were collected in 2015. Demographic and socioeconomic variables, morbidity, hospitalizations in the previous year, frailty (Edmonton Frail Scale), geriatric depression (GDS-15), and functional disability (Katz Index, Lawton and Brody Scales) were analyzed. Multiple analysis was performed using Poisson regression with robust variance. Results: 360 elderly people aged 65 years and over participated in the study. The prevalence of functional disability for Basic Activities of Daily Living was 21.4% while for instrumental activities it was 78.3%. Functional disability in basic activities was higher among elderly males (p=0.03) who had suffered strokes (p=0.00) and were frail (p=0.00), while for instrumental activities it was higher among older elderly persons (p=0.04); who were illiterate (p=0.00), had less than five years of schooling (p=0.02); had depressive symptoms (p=0.00) and were frail (p=0.00). It was lower among elderly persons who lived alone. Conclusion: A high prevalence of functional disability was identified among the elderly for instrumental activities of daily living, demonstrating the need for an effective and immediate approach by health professionals, who should employ preventive care in order to tackle this problem.

The present study aimed to estimate the prevalence of depressive symptoms and associated factors among older adults treated at a referral center. A cross-sectional study was carried out with a sample of 360 older adults treated at a Referral Center for the Health of Older Adults in the north of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The following data were collected in 2017: demographic, socioeconomic, morbidity, hospital admission in the last year, frailty (Edmonton Frail Scale), functional capacity (Katz Index, Lawton and Brody Scale) and presence of depressive symptoms (Geriatric Depression Scale - GDS-15). Multiple analysis was performed through logistic regression. A prevalence of depressive symptoms was observed in 37.2% of the sample. The variables associated with depressive symptoms were: negative perception about one’s own health (OR=1.9, 95% CI 1.34-2.70); frailty (OR=1.94, 95% CI 1.41-2.66); having suffered falls (OR=1.24, 95% CI 1.01-1.61); having been hospitalized in the last year (OR=1.56, 95% CI, 1.11-2.27); (OR=2.56, 95% CI 1.38-4.77) and residing alone (OR=1.66, 95% CI 1.09-2.53). Thus, a high prevalence of depressive symptoms was identified among the older adults, evidencing the need for an effective and immediate approach by health professionals.

Objective: To analyze the factors associated with the performance of episiotomy. Methods: Cross-sectional study, developed with data from the research “Born in Belo Horizonte: Labor and birth survey, “conducted with 577 women who had their children via vaginal birth. In order to verify the magnitude of the association between episiotomy and its possible determinants, logistic regression models were constructed to estimate the odds ratio. Results: Episiotomy was performed in 26.34% of women, and 59.21% knew they had been subjected to it. We observed that younger women, primiparous women, women assisted by a professional other than the obstetric nurse and women who had their babies in a private hospital have an increased chance of being submitted to this procedure. Conclusion: Considering the rates of episiotomy, this study highlights the need for the absolute contraindication to indiscriminate performing it.

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