Factors related to sarcopenia and functional capacity in institutionalized elderly

Abstract

Objective: to analyze factors related to sarcopenia and functional capacity of institutionalized elderly. Methods: descriptive, correlational, cross-sectional study, with 92 elderly people, in four long-term institutions. For data collection, a socioeconomic and clinical form, Mini Mental State Examination, Barthel Index and Timed Up and Go test were applied. In the analysis, the chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests were adopted. Results: it was identified that 68 (73.9%) had probable sarcopenia, 7 (7.6%) sarcopenia and 11 (12.0%) severe sarcopenia. The factors associated with sarcopenia were education (p=0.017), risk of falls (p=0.000) and chronic kidney disease (p=0.040). As for functional capacity, 49 (53.3%) had mild dependence, 40 (43.5%) moderate and 3 (3.3%) severe. The factors associated with functional capacity were risk of falls (p=0.010), polypharmacy (p=0.017) and education (p=0.019). Conclusion: it was found that education, polypharmacy, chronic kidney disease, risk of falls, falls and sarcopenia can influence the functional capacity of institutionalized elderly.