Life and health conditions of the elderly with mental disorders according to sex

Abstract

Objective: to analyze the conditions of life and health of elderly users of an outpatient mental health facility in accordance with the gender. Method: a cross-sectional study conducted in an
outpatient mental health facilities in the countryside of São Paulo, with 138 elderly, through interviews. The inferential analyzes were performed by using the Pearson Chi-square test and the
extension of the Fishers exact test. Results: women are more often the prevention of cancer, flu vaccination, use of auxiliary aids when necessary; present diagnoses in mental health carried out
in adult life, marital status “lives”, independence in activities of daily living and mood disorders and personality. The men had their diagnoses in mental health later, use habit of alcohol and
mental and behavioral disorders due to use of psychoactive substance. Conclusion: the living conditions and health of elderly people with mental disorder have different characteristics when
comparing males with females. This evidences the need for the search for knowledge of the differences, for those who attend them professionally, considering the contexts that led to illness
and current health conditions.