Objective: to describe sociodemographic and family relationships, health status, depression and degree of functional capacity in institutionalized elderly persons in eleven long-term care facilities for the elderly in the north coastal region of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Methods: a cross-sectional study was carried out of 60 institutionalized elderly persons without cognitive impairment, confirmed by a score greater than 13 in the Mini Mental State Exam. Questionnaires were used to obtain data on sociodemographic conditions, family relationships, and self-perception of health. Functional capacity was evaluated with the Barthel Index and the Geriatric Depression Scale was applied. Results: A predominance of women, widowed and single, with a of low level of education and precarious financial status, most of whom who did not have children, was observed. The elderly persons complained about difficulty walking (38.3%), generalized pain (16.7%) and vision problems (13.3%). The majority (95%) reported suffering from two to three chronic diseases and making daily use of three or more drugs. Although 55% of the participants presented depressive symptoms and morbidity, they reported functional independence and 50% rated their health as good. Conclusions: These data contributed to the knowledge of the health status and functional capacity of these institutionalized elderly persons, aiming to improve the care provided to this public.

Background. Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic joint disease characterized by progressive degeneration of articular cartilage. It affects 20-25% of the population older than 45 years. The objective was to evaluate the effect of combining muscle strengthening exercises with the administration of oral type II undenatured collagen formulation (UC-II) in people with knee OA. Methods. A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized controlled trial with 60 patients with knee OA, randomly divided into the following groups: UC-II and physiotherapy group (CPG), placebo UC-II and physiotherapy group (PCPG), and physiotherapy group (PG). For groups using an oral type II undenatured collagen formulation, UC-II, 40 mg/day UC-II was administered for 90 days. Muscle strengthening exercises were associated with neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), being performed three times a week for 30 days. At 30 and 90 days and six months after the intervention, the following were evaluated: pain, quality of life, functional capacity, muscle strength, and joint mobility. Results. Pain improved in all intervention groups, with no difference between groups. Quadriceps muscle strength increased in the CPG (p<0.005) and PG (p<0.05), the same being observed for active and passive knee flexion mobility (p<0.05). All groups decreased the TUG test execution time after 30 days (p<0.005 for the CPG and PG, and p<0.05 for the PCPG), but only the CPG and PG maintained the scores at 90-day and six-month assessments (p<0.005). Regarding the 6MWT, only the CPG increased the distance covered in all assessments (p<0.005). The PG traveled a greater distance than the PCPG at the 90-day assessment (p<0.05). The WOMAC score decreased significantly in all intervention groups. The Lequesne score decreased in all groups; however, the CPG and PG showed lower values at 30 days (p<0.005). Conclusions. Muscle strengthening exercises improved pain, mobility, strength, and function in knee OA patients. The association of UC-II seems to have accentuated the effect of exercise on this clinical improvement, especially in the long term.