Ageing comparative study between diferent cities in Brazil and Portugal: A health analyses, ageing and quality of life

Abstract

Introduction The demographic epidemiologic transition is a worldwide phenomenon and it is present both in the developed countries and increasingly in the developing ones. The population estimates in the studied countries show that Portugal is nowadays in the list of the oldest countries in the world and in Brazil the “ageing of the top” will occur up to 2025 occupying the 6th elderly population of the world, in absolute terms.

Methods The aim of this study was to analyze comparatively Life Quality between the senior citizens who participate in the Public Physical Activity Programs at Nisa, Portugal (Program Activ Sénior) and Florianópolis, Brazil (Programa Floripa Ativa). A transversal descriptive study was carried out including 258 senior citizens, both genders, from October to December 2011 using the Brazilian and Portuguese versions of the Short Form 36 questionnaire. The statistics tests performed were Student’s t-teste, ANOVA, Kruskal Wallis test and K-S test.

Results The global Cronbach’s alpha was 0.72 for the Physical and 0.73 for the Mental Component. Descriptive analysis showed that the subjects' average age was 69,56 years old (PD:+/- 5,74 years) and that most of them were women (84,8%). The best scores for both cities/countries were obtained for the Mental Component: Social Function (83,8), Emotional Performance (75,5) and Mental Health (73,8). The worst scores appeared in Physical Pain (63,9), General Health (67,9) and Vitality (69,1). There were statistically significant differences for the following dimensions: Physical Pain, General Health and Vitality. It could be observed through the comparative analysis that there were significant differences between both genders.

Discussion Therefore, it was possible to conclude that the most significant percentage belongs to the women (55,7% in Portugal and 44,3% in Brazil), from 60 to 69 years old. The feminization of ageing, estimates for average age and participation of women in studies related to ageing are always in greater numbers, similar results in other studies (Matsudo et al.,2011). That being in the oldest age category is not related with the worst Life Quality and that the dimensions that were related to the Mental Component show the best scores for life quality in both cities/countries. The results of this study suggest that the collective health strategies that have been adopted in Nisa/Portugal and Florianópolis/Brazil through their Programs were able to establish social bonds and provide health gains, bringing benefits for active ageing.