Prevalence of functional incapacity by gender in elderly people in Brazil: a systematic review with meta-analysis

Ana Cristina Viana Campos,Maria Helena Morgani De Almeida,Gisele Viana Campos,Tania Fernandes Bogutchi

doi:10.1590/1809-98232016019.150086

Abstract

Abstract Considering that functional capacity is an important indicator of health in aging, the present study aimed to describe the prevalence of disability by gender among elderly people in Brazil through a systematic review and meta-analysis of articles about this subject. Articles published up to June 2013 were included, and a search was performed of the MEDLINE, SciELO, LILACS, Scopus, Web of Science and Science Direct electronic databases. The inclusion of articles in the systematic review was guided by the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) and by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A descriptive analysis of the selected articles was performed and expressed in a forest-plot type graph. Of 3,656 articles initially identified in all the databases, 2,585 duplicates were excluded and 23 articles were deemed eligible for review. Prevalence rates ranged from 12.3% to 94.1% for men and from 14.9% to 84.6% for women. The methods used to assess functional capacity in elderly people in Brazil also differed between the articles. This variation complicates the comparison of results between the articles, demonstrating the need for standardized methods of measuring functional capacity.

Highlights

METHODMaintaining functional capacity is considered to be the main parameter for the assessment of health and quality of life during the aging process.[1]
This ability can be measured by the performance of daily activities, which are didactically divided into basic activities of daily living (BADL) such as bathing, eating, using the toilet and walking through the rooms of the house, and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), such as shopping, performing housework and preparing meals
Considering the importance of functional capacity as a health indicator for the elderly and the scattered information on the topic in Brazilian research, the present study aimed to describe the prevalence of functional incapacity by gender among elderly Brazilian individuals through a systematic review and meta-analysis of articles on the topic

Summary

Introduction

METHODMaintaining functional capacity is considered to be the main parameter for the assessment of health and quality of life during the aging process.[1]. According to the World Health Organization (WHO),[3] functional incapacity can be understood as the process of losing the ability to perform the daily tasks necessary for an independent and autonomous life. This ability can be measured by the performance of daily activities, which are didactically divided into basic activities of daily living (BADL) such as bathing, eating, using the toilet and walking through the rooms of the house, and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), such as shopping, performing housework and preparing meals. It has been shown that there is a dose-response type association between age and the prevalence of functional incapacity, and that aging is different for men and women.[5,6] most such studies involve representative samples of municipal districts or states, and not nationwide research

Results

Discussion

Conclusion