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IntroductionPopulation aging generally accompanies an increase in chronic noncommunicable diseases, such as metabolic syndrome (MS). Nursing homes have provided a solution for the decreased ability of elderly individuals for self-care and familial difficulties in meeting the health care needs of elderly individuals.PurposeThe aim of the present study was to determine the frequency of MS and its associated factors in elderly individuals living in nursing homes.Patients and methodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted with 202 institutionalized elderly individuals. MS was diagnosed according to the National Cholesterol Education Program – Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. Sociodemographic, clinical, and lifestyle factors were assessed to verify their association with MS by logistic regression.ResultsThe MS frequency was 29.2%. The most frequent MS components were low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level (63.9%) and abdominal obesity (42.7%). Factors associated with MS were female sex (prevalence ratio [PR]=2.16; 95% CI, 1.04–4.49), age-adjusted institutionalization time >50% (PR=2.38, 95% CI, 1.46–3.88), and high concentrations of interleukin-6 (PR=2.01; 95% CI, 1.21–3.32) and tumor necrosis factor-α (PR=1.70; 95% CI, 1.05–2.77). Moreover, it was verified that the likelihood of having MS was 1.85-fold higher (95% CI, 1.11–3.10) in the group with a diet characterized by very high energy, very low fat, and high dietary fiber.ConclusionThe occurrence of MS in institutionalized elderly individuals was higher in females, and individuals with longer age-adjusted institutionalization time, higher concentrations of immunologic biomarkers, and a dietary intake consisting of higher energy and fiber and lower total fat. The results of the study are useful for guiding health care programs aimed at institutionalized elderly individuals.

Estimating equations can be used when measuring the height of elderly persons is not possible. However, such methods are not always applicable; therefore, it is necessary to consider several aspects, such as sex, age, and ethnicity of the studied population to generate these equations. This study aimed to compare and validate methods of estimating the height of the Brazilian elderly nursing home residents. An accuracy study was conducted with 168 elderly persons. A total of 23 equations were quantitatively evaluated by plotting the differences in means, the Student’s t-test for paired samples, the coefficient of determination (R2), the root-mean-square error (RMSE), the interclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and by graphic analysis of the residuals. A significance value of p <0.05 was adopted. An equation was considered applicable when it had R2 >0.7, the lowest RMSE among the equations evaluated, ICC >0.7, and a confidence interval of 95%, with the smallest difference between the upper and lower limits. A greater mean height was noted among younger elderly persons and elderly men compared to up to 80 years and women elderly. Quantitative analysis revealed that equation for Puerto Ricans, using knee height and age, was the most applicable for the overall population (ICC = 0.802). The same equation was applicable for the elderly Brazilian male participants (ICC = 0.838) and for those aged 60–69 years (ICC = 0.895). None of the equations used were applicable for the height estimation of elderly women or individuals aged 70 years or more.

The present article seeks the process of construction of ergonomics demand referring to the artisan fishing activityfound in Ponta Negra beach located in the city of Natal, Brazil. The instruction/construction of demands correspond to the first stage of Work Ergonomic Analysis and allows the understanding of real issues existent in a work situation, rank them and route the providences. The demand presented on this study, features itself as a induced demand, process which some potential demands or hypothetical demands are taken to an organization, after a preview analysis of the work aimed by the study, resulting from a theoretical research (state of the art) and/or from analysis of a reference situation (state of practice), where demands hypothesis are taken in consideration about the pretended work. The demands construction process using interactional methods and techniques, observation methods and techniques and bibliographic research, researches in state of reference or document. This article demonstrates the efficiency of the methodological choice to construct real ergonomic demands and highlights the importance of social construction on that process, which main goal is to refer the ergonomic actions that allow the improvement of work and life conditions for the fishers and sustainability to Jangadeira activity.

The increase in inflammatory cytokines associated with a reduction in the bioavailability of zinc has been used as a marker for inflammation. Despite the high inflammatory state found in institutionalized older individuals, few studies have proposed verifying the factors associated with this condition in this population. To verify the factors associated with inflamm-aging in institutionalized older people. A total of 178 older people (≥ 60 years old) living in nursing homes in Natal/RN were included in the study. Cluster analysis was used to identify three groups according to their inflammatory state. Analysis anthropometric, biochemical, sociodemographic, and health-related variables was carried out. In sequence, an ordinal logistic regression was performed for a confidence level of 95% in those variables with p < 0.20 in the bivariate analysis. IL-6, TNF-α, zinc, low-density lipids (LDL), high-density lipids (HDL), and triglycerides were associated with inflamm-aging. The increase of 1 unit of measurement of LDL, HDL, and triglycerides increased the chance of inflammation-aging by 1.5%, 4.1%, and 0.9%, respectively, while the oldest old (≥ 80 years old) had an 84.9% chance of presenting inflamm-aging in relation to non-long-lived older people (< 80 years). The association between biochemical markers and inflamm-aging demonstrates a relationship between endothelial injury and the inflammatory state. In addition, the presence of a greater amount of fat in the blood may present a higher relative risk of death.

The equation 5 was applicable for estimating weight in the evaluated population and in the different strata analyzed.

Objective: To verify the impact of the European Consensus on the diagnosis and prevalence of sarcopenia among institutionalized elderly persons in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Method: 219 elderly persons (≥60 years) of both genders were recruited for the study. Two criteria were initially used to calculate the prevalence of sarcopenia: criterion A, based on the European Consensus, considering only elderly persons with good physical and cognitive conditions and criterion B, considering all elderly individuals, regardless of their physical and/or cognitive condition. The association between sarcopenia and gender, age and body mass index (BMI) in the two groups was investigated using the chi-square test and the Student's t-test, with a significance level of 5%. Result: the diagnosis of sarcopenia according to Criterion A revealed a prevalence of 32% (95% CI: 22.54-43.21), whereas Criterion B identified a prevalence of 63.2% (95% CI: 56; 45-69,13). Despite the difference in the prevalence of sarcopenia using the two criteria employed (p<0.001), no differences were observed in terms of the association with gender (p=0.149, p=0.212), BMI (p<0.001, p<0.001), and age (p=0.904, p=353). Conclusion: including only elderly people with good physical and cognitive abilities to calculate sarcopenia, based on the European Consensus, underestimates the prevalence of this condition among institutionalized elderly. As elderly persons with physical or cognitive limitations are extremely typical in the population of care facilities and increased diagnostic calculation for sarcopenia did not interfere with the distribution of associated factors, it is recommended that these individuals are considered in the basis of calculation for future studies of the diagnosis and prevalence of sarcopenia.

Introdução: A desnutrição é um importante distúrbio nutricional em idosos institucionalizados por estar associada ao aumento da mortalidade e da susceptibilidade às infecções e redução da qualidade de vida. A avaliação periódica do estado nutricional é fundamental para a promoção ou reabilitação da saúde em idosos. Para tanto, os métodos mais utilizados são os antropométricos, bioquímicos, de consumo alimentar e a Mini Avaliação Nutricional. Esse trabalho visa identificar a prevalência de desnutrição em idosos institucionalizados e os métodos diagnósticos utilizados para determinar essa deficiência nutricional. Metodologia: A revisão foi realizada a partir das bases eletrônicas Lilacs, IBECS, Scielo, Medline, PubMed e SCOPUS. A seleção dos estudos foi feita considerando artigos originais completos disponíveis online, em inglês, espanhol e português e publicados entre 1992 e 2013. Resultados: Todos os estudos foram desenvolvidos em mais de uma instituição asilar. Destes, 71,4% (n=15) consideraram como idosos sujeitos com idade mínima de 65 anos. As prevalências de desnutrição variaram de 6,3% a 81,7% dependendo do método, indicadores e critérios utilizados para o diagnóstico. Todos os estudos utilizaram o Índice de Massa Corporal para diagnóstico do estado nutricional, seja como método isolado, ou associado a outro método, utilizando distintos valores de referência. Conclusões: Existe uma elevada prevalência de desnutrição em idosos institucionalizados, sendo a Mini Avaliação Nutricional o método mais utilizado para o diagnóstico. Mais estudos são necessários para subsidiar o desenvolvimento de instrumentos que permita uma avaliação nutricional mais robusta e que possa ser utilizado tanto para acompanhamento clínico quanto para a investigação epidemiológica.