Força de preensão manual e estado nutricional em idosos: uma análise correlacional

Abstract

With the growth of the elderly population, the number of people living longer, those who exceed life expectancy, has increased significantly. Currently, these elderly people aged 80 or over form the fastest growing segment of the population, and, with this, there is concern about health, quality of life and care in different contexts. Thus, this study seeks to learn about the oldest-old people living in the rural area of Manaus, AM, and the objective is to verify whether there is a correlation between Handgrip Strength (HGS) and Nutritional Status (NS). Based on the inclusion criteria, 89 oldest old people of both sexes took part in this study. The Protocol used for evaluation was developed for the Study “AM 80+: A study with oldest-old people from Amazonas” and from this protocol we used sociodemographic information and anthropometric data. A moderate correlation was observed between handgrip strength of the right hand and BMI in men, while in women there was a weak correlation. With this work we observed the need for interventions through guidelines that include muscle strengthening and periodic assessments of the nutritional status of the elderly.