Abstract
Objectives: To analyze factors associated with health self-assessment in elderly with mental disorders. Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional study was carried out with 138 elderly people with mental disorders seen at a mental health outpatient clinic. The outcome variable was health self-assessment. The exposure variables were demographic characteristics (gender, age, schooling and marital status), basic activities of daily living (BADLs), instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) and characteristics of mental disorders (age at first diagnosis, number and categories of diagnoses). The chi-square test was used for analysis. Results: Being illiterate, having incomplete primary education, and severe or total dependence on the BADL test were associated with negative health selfassessment. The statistical analysis showed significance between mental disorder characteristics and health selfassessment. Elderly people who had only one diagnosis evaluated their health as positive. Diagnoses of mental and behavioral disorders in the F20-F29 group of the International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition (ICD-10) were associated with positive health selfassessment, whereas those in the F30-F39 group were associated with negative health self-assessment. Conclusions: There are associations between health self-assessment and demographic factors, degree of dependence for BADLs and characteristics of mental disorders in this population. These data show the need for greater knowledge of health conditions among elderly with mental disorders, in order to implement measures that aim to minimize the impact of mental illness in the aging process.
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