Follow-up of sixty year-old and over cohort in Botucatu City (State of São Paulo, Brazil)

• Grant number: 05/02510-0
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: November 01, 2005
• End date: October 31, 2007
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Collective Health - Epidemiology
• Principal Investigator: Tania Ruiz
• Grantee: Tania Ruiz
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FMB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

As the Brazilian elderly population proportionally increases, survival studies as well as those concerning satisfaction and quality of life can greatly contribute to the definition of public policies.This project will follow a home inquiry that was carried out in the City of Botucatu in 2003, whose first results have shown the existence of four profiles for older adults in the population.1. older adults with good financial conditions who are fully performing their vital functions; 2. hypertensive older adults who are motivated, preserving their social life and value leisure as an indication of quality of life; 3. older adults bearing illnesses, who have reported to be smokers and to ingest alcoholic drinks and who value doing their duties as a quality of life indicator.4. older adults who do volunteer work, who reported to be satisfied about their families and homes and who value cherishing inner values as a quality of life. This project aims at returning to that field, thus characterizing a cohort-type follow-up and complementing the data stemming from the previous study.Therefore, the study aims at:Identifying older adults under risk in the City of Botucatu (SP) in relation to:• survival time • occurrence of morbid eventsStudying diabetic older adults according to spatial distribution, the complications of such disease and adherence to treatment.Studying the spatial distribution of knee osteoarthrosis occurrences and its risk factors as regards limitation to daily life activities.A new home inquiry will be carried out and the diabetic elderly individuals and/or those with knee dysfunction will be called for a medical appointment at the university health unit of the Faculty of Medicine of Botucatu, where a physician will conduct a clinical assessment and order basic laboratory tests. These results will be later given to the elderly individuals and, depending on their needs, they will be referred to the University Health Unit or to the Clinical Hospital, both of which belong to the Faculty of Medicine of Botucatu. (AU)