Quality of Life in Community-Dwelling Older People with Functional and Nutritional Impairment and Depressive Symptoms: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study in Brazil and Portugal.

BACKGROUND: The interaction of quality of life (QoL) with functionality, nutrition and depression has been studied, but few studies have compared different realities. Our objective was to compare the associations of QoL with impaired functionality, nutritional status and depressive symptoms among older people patients treated in primary health care (PHC) in Brazil and Portugal. METHODS: Cross-sectional, comparative study was conducted with primary data from PHC services in Brazil and Portugal with users over 65 years old. Participants' scores were classified as "impaired" and "preserved" for QoL, functional decline, nutrition and depression. We used Pearson's chi-square test, Fisher's exact test and the Mann-Whitney U test. RESULTS: Our sample had a total of 150 PHC users. We found lower QoL scores in Brazil, which were associated with the risk of functional decline for the domains Physical Functioning, General Health Perceptions, Mental Health dimensions and Physical Health. Nutritional impairment in the group from Portugal included the domains of Vitality and Social Role Functioning. For depressive impairment, Portugal showed an association with the domains Mental Health, Vitality and Social Role Functioning. CONCLUSIONS: QoL was associated with functional and nutritional impairment and depressive symptoms, highlighting physical, mental and social characteristics related to the perception of well-being.

Depression and quality of life in Brazilian and Portuguese older people communities: Analysis of association.

ABSTRACT: We aimed to compare the association of depression with aspects of quality of life (QoL) among older people users of primary health care (PHC) living in Brazil and Portugal.We carried out an observational, cross-sectional and comparative study with a quantitative approach in the PHC scope in Brazil and Portugal, where we obtained a nonrandom sample of 150 participants aged 65 years or older (100 Brazilians and 50 Portuguese). We used the socioeconomic and health data questionnaire, the Medical Outcomes Short-Form Health Survey QoL (SF-36) questionnaire and the Beck Inventory.Among the socioeconomic profiles, most were females aged between 65 and 80 years in both countries. There was a significant difference between groups in the income variable, with 100.0% of Portuguese people earning up to 1 minimum wage (P value <.001), and the presence of chronic diseases in 92.0% of respondents in Portugal (P value = .033). In the association analysis, most aspects of QoL had a higher median score (>50.0) within the categorical variables of "absent" and "mild" depression. The Emotional role functioning, Physical role functioning, Physical functioning, Mental health, Total score domains and the Mental health and Physical health summary measures stood out with this behavior in Brazil and in Portugal, where these latter 2 presented moderate to strong correlation values (ρ > 0.400) in Portugal. Greater associations of depression on QoL were revealed in Portugal than in Brazil. Among their most expressive associations, the Physical role functioning (odds ratio [OR] = 4.776; 95.0% confidence interval [CI]: 2.41-9.43), Physical functioning (OR = 3.037; 95.0% CI: 3.037), Vitality (OR = 6.000; 95.0% CI: 1.56-23.07) and Total score (OR = 3.727; 95.0% CI: 2.24-6.17) domains and the Mental health summary measure (OR = 3.870; 95.0% CI: 2.13-7.02) stood out.Aspects related to the emotional, physical, functional and mental health components stood out. The association and correlation with depression were more expressive in Portugal compared to Brazil. However, similar results were obtained in Brazil but with less relevance.

Perfil epidemiológico de las emergencias traumáticas asistidas por un servicio prehospitalario móvil de urgencia / Perfil epidemiológico das emergências traumáticas assistidas por um serviço pré-hospitalar móvel de urgencia / Epidemiological profile of the traumatic emergencies assisted by a mobile prehospital emergency service

Objetivo: Describir el perfil epidemiológico de las emergencias traumáticas asistidas por un servicio de urgencia prehospitalaria móvil en el Nordeste de Brasil. Métodos: Estudio documental y cuantitativo, realizado a partir de registros de asistencia de las urgencias entre enero y junio de 2014 y la muestra se compone de 1.960 fichas. Se utilizó un Resultados: Destacaron los Accidentes de Tráfico (AT) - 67,7%; caídas (17,1%); y perforación por armas de fuego (6,8%). La mayoría de los involucrados eran hombres (76,2%), encuadrados en el grupo de edad jóvenes adultos (46,6%) y el mayor número de ocurrencias fue el fin de semana (37,4%). De éstas, 58,1% tuvieron traumatismo leve y el 44,0% no sufrió politraumatismo. Se observó que hubo negligencia con respecto a la anotación de la escala de coma de Glasgow en 39,0% de los casos. Conclusión: Entre las emergencias traumáticas atendidas, los AT ocurrieron en mayor proporción en domingo, involucrando adultos jóvenes de sexo masculino. Se destaca que la negligencia de los profesionales en cuanto a las anotaciones básicas en losl registros de asistencia son responsables por generar dificultades para el desarrollo de la investigación. Y con respecto a los procesos judiciales, está claro que no hay soporte documental en cuanto a la asistencia prestada (AU)

Objetivo: Descrever o perfil epidemiológico das emergências traumáticas assistidas por um serviço pré-hospitalar móvel de emergência do Nordeste do Brasil. Métodos: Estudo documental e quantitativo, realizado a partir das fichas de atendimento das emergências entre janeiro e junho de 2014, sendo a amostra composta por 1.960 fichas. Utilizou-se um questionário estruturado para a coleta de dados e a análise foi por estatística descritiva. Resultados: Houve destaque para os Acidente de Trânsito (AT) - 67,7%; quedas (17,1%); e perfuração por arma de fogo (6,8%). A maioria dos envolvidos eram homens (76,2%), enquadrados no grupo etário jovens adultos (46,6%) e o maior número de ocorrências foi no fim de semana (37,4%). Destes, 58,1% tiveram trauma leve e 44,0% não sofreram politraumatismo. Observou-se que houve negligência em relação a anotação da escala de coma de Glasgow em 39,0% dos casos. Conclusão: Entre as emergências traumáticas atendidas, os AT ocorreram em maior proporção no domingo, envolvendo jovens adultos do sexo masculino. Ressalta-se que a negligência dos profissionais quanto às anotações básicas nas fichas de atendimento são responsáveis por gerar dificuldades para o desenvolvimento de pesquisas. E, no que diz respeito aos processos judiciais, é notório que não há respaldo documental quanto a assistência prestada (AU)

Objective: To describe the epidemiological profile of the traumatic emergencies assisted by a mobile prehospital emergency service in Northeastern Brazil. Methods: Documentary and quantitative study, performed from the patients’ records of the emergencies between January and June 2014, consisting the sample of 1,960 records. A structured questionnaire to collect data was used, and the analysis was by descriptive statistics. Results: There was predominance of Traffic Accidents (TA) - 67.7%; falls (17.1%); and perforation by firearms (6.8%). The most involved were men (76.2%), framed in the age group young adults (46.6%) and the largest number of occurrences was in the weekend (37.4%). Among them, 58.1% had mild trauma and 44.0% did not suffer polytrauma. There was neglect in relation to the annotation of the Glasgow coma scale in 39.0% of cases. Conclusion: Among the traumatic emergencies, TA occurred mostly on Sunday, involving male young adults. One emphasizes that the negligence of professionals regarding basics notes in the patients' records are responsible for generating difficulties for the development of researches. Moreover, with regard to judicial proceedings, it is notorious that there is not documentary support concerning the provided assistance (AU)