Psychotropic drug use among older adults: prevalence and associated factors. / Uso de psicofármacos entre idosos residentes em comunidade: prevalência e fatores associados.

OBJECTIVE:: Investigating the prevalence of psychotropic drug use among older adults and factors associated with it. METHODS:: This study was based on the Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Area Health Survey, conducted in 2003. It involved 1,635 elderly (60 years or older) citizens, who were residents of cities within the Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Area and were selected using complex randomize sampling. Logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with psychotropic drug use, with a 5.0% significance level. RESULTS:: The prevalence of psychotropic drug use in the sample was 13.4%; specifically, 8.3% of individuals surveyed used benzodiazepines, whereas 5.0% used antidepressants. The following factors were independently associated with the use of psychotropic drugs: female gender (OR = 2.20; 95%CI 1.49 - 3.27), medical diagnosis of depression (OR = 6.42; 95%CI 4.31 - 9.55), 5 or more medical appointments in the last 12 months (OR = 2.15; 95%CI 1.32 - 3.53), and subscription to private health insurance (OR = 2.69; 95%CI 1.86 - 3.88). CONCLUSION:: The prevalence observed was similar to the one verified in other elderly Brazilian populations and the pattern of associated factors was consistent with the one detected for older populations of higher-income countries. Medical diagnosis of depression was the factor most strongly associated with psychotropic drug use.

Association between disability and social capital among community-dwelling elderly. / Associação entre incapacidade funcional e capital social em idosos residentes em comunidade.

Objective: To assess the prevalence of disability and its association with social capital among community-dwelling elderly. Methods: The study was based on 2nd Health Survey of Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Region - 2010, that included 1,995 community-dwelling elderly, randomly sampled. The exposure of interest was social capital, measured by confidence in neighborhood, perception of the physical environment, sense of cohesion in housing, and neighborhood perception of help. Socio-demographic variables, health conditions and use of health services were considered in the analysis with the purpose of adjustment. Results: Approximately one third of participants (32.6%) were unable to at least one instrumental activity of daily living (IADL) and/or basic activity of daily living (ADL); the prevalence of disability in ADL/IADL was 18.1%, and only in IADL was 14.6%. Elderly with functional disabilities had higher odds of poor social capital, but only the sense of cohesion in housing neighborhood showed to be independently associated with functional disability (OR = 1.80; 95%CI 1.12 - 2.88). Conclusions: Our results show the importance of social capital in research on associated factors of functional disability and indicate the need to implement public policies for social and environmental areas, since the needs of the elderly require measures beyond those typical of the health sector.