Deleterious effects of prolonged bed rest on the body systems of the elderly - a review

Abstract

Abstract Objective: to describe the deleterious effects of prolonged bed rest on the body systems of the elderly. Method: an integrative-narrative review was carried out, with the following research question: What are the effects of prolonged bed rest on the body systems of the elderly? The PubMed and Virtual Health Library databases were searched with the following terms: "bed rest” and "elderly" with the Boolean operator “and”. Results: a total of 1,639 articles were found. After application of the established criteria, nine articles remained, and 20 were added to maintain the citation of the primary source, giving a total of 29 articles. Conclusion: the immobility associated with prolonged bed rest is detrimental to the health of the elderly, as it affects several systems, such as the cardiovascular, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal and urinary systems, which may lead to the onset of diseases in addition to those that led to bed rest.

Keywords

• Health of the Elderly
• Bed Rest
• Comorbidity