Population aging leads to an increase in the prevalence of chronic and disabling diseases, as well as a change in the public health paradigm. Diseases diagnosed in the elderly are generally not curable; if not properly treated and monitored over time, they tend to generate complications and sequelae that impair patients' independence and autonomy. Health is no longer measured by the presence or absence of disease, but by the degree of preservation of functional capacity. Factors for healthy aging with good functional capacity and those which increase the risk of death and disability need to be identified by longitudinal surveys that include the elderly population living in the community. This article presents data from the first follow-up survey of senior citizens in Brasil, called the Epidoso Project (from "epi" as in "epidemiologic" and "idoso" or "elderly" in Portuguese) implemented since 1991 in the city of São Paulo. The socio-demographic, clinical, and functional characteristics of a cohort of elderly are discussed, with a risk analysis for death and disability, and the implications for health planning are considered.
Aging Health; Demographic Aging; Chronic Disease; Longitudinal Studies