Revista Brasileira de Epidemiologia (Jun 2007)

Perfil demográfico de idosos da cidade de Joinville, Santa Catarina: estudo de base domiciliar Demographic profile of the elderly in the city of Joinville, Santa Catarina: a household survey

  • Marco Fabio Mastroeni,
  • Gilmar Sidnei Erzinger,
  • Silmara Salete de Barros Silva Mastroeni,
  • Nilza Nunes da Silva,
  • Maria de Fátima Nunes Marucci

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1415-790X2007000200007
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10, no. 2
pp. 190 – 201

Abstract

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OBJETIVO: Identificar o perfil demográfico dos idosos residentes na área urbana de Joinville-SC. METODOLOGIA: Utilizando-se amostragem por conglomerados em múltiplos estágios nos setores censitários urbanos de Joinville, 660 idosos foram entrevistados em suas casas por meio de questionários. A análise estatística para variáveis categóricas consistiu em testes de associação segundo o sexo, utilizando-se o Teste do Qui-Quadrado. Em todas as análises foi considerado o nível de significância pOBJECTIVE: To identify the demographic profile of the elderly people living in the urban area of Joinville-SC. METHOD: using multistage cluster sampling of Joinville urban sectors, 660 elderly individuals were interviewed in their homes with the use of questionnaires. Chi-square test was used for association tests for categorical variables according to gender. A level of significance of p<0.05 was considered for all analyses. The differences between genders were considered statistically significant when p<0.05. RESULTS: The average age was 69.8 years, and most (57.6%) of the elderly were women. The majority (62.0%) was living with a partner, and 33.0% were widows/ers; the predominant age group was 60-69 years (54.8%); the most highly represented ethnical group was the Caucasian (89.5%); most individuals (84.5%) were born in Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul was the original state of most immigrants (3.9%). As to schooling, 72.9% did not complete elementary school, 9.2% were illiterate, and only 5.3% had gone to high school. Concerning income, 45.6% received up to two Brazilian minimum wages, and 50.3% of the women were financially dependent. In relation to BMI, 32.8% presented mean values above appropriate. CONCLUSION: The demographic profile of this population was similar to other studies with the elderly in the country. Given it is an age group that is growing increasing faster in the country and in the world, having information on their demographic characteristics is necessary to establish public health policies aimed at controlling and promoting this population's health.

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