OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess the influence of sociodemographic factors, physical health, and neuropsychiatric factors on the functional capacity of the elderly who live in the city of Santa Cruz, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. METHODS: It was a cross-sectional study, where a representative sample of 310 elderly who live in the urban area of the city of Santa Cruz-RN was interviewed, with a questionnaire, which contained information on sociodemographic profile, physical health conditions, cognitive functioning and depressive symptoms, in addition to Katz's and Lawton's indices to measure basic activities of daily living (BADL's) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL's). The statistical analysis was made through bivariate analysis (Pearson chi-square tests), followed by binary logistic regression in multivariate analysis, with the respective odds ratio (OR), considering a p< 0.05 significance level and 95% confidence intervals (CI 95%). RESULTS: In the Katz's Index, 86.9% were independent and in Lawton's Index, only 47.4% were so. In the multivariate analysis, age (OR= 1.06) and poor health perception (OR= 3.64) were associated with BADL's. For IADL's, there was association with age (OR= 1.18), female gender (OR= 4.3), illiteracy (OR= 3.78), marital status (OR= 2.14), depressive symptoms (OR= 4.54) and poor health perception (OR= 4.47). CONCLUSION: Variables associated with functional disability showed a complex relationship between the health status of the elderly and possible risk factors for physical decline.
Elderly; Functional Capacity; Activities of Daily Life
