title: The institutionalized elderly: sociodemographic and clinical-functional profiles related to dizziness.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Dizziness is among the most common complaints in the elderly population.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the sociodemographic and clinical-functional profiles of institutionalized elderly people related to dizziness.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional prospective study with institutionalized elderly people aged 60 or more years. A questionnaire on sociodemographic and clinical-functional characteristics was applied, and an anamnesis of occurrence of dizziness was held, as well as the Dizziness Handicap Inventory questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  48.9% of the elderly subjects had dizziness. The mean numbers of diseases and medications associated with dizziness were, respectively, 4.5 diseases and 7.8 medications. We found a significant association between the occurrence of dizziness and diseases of the musculoskeletal system, sub-connective tissue and genitourinary system, as well as the use of medications for the musculoskeletal system. The scores for handicap degree in functional DHI were significantly higher among elderly subjects who needed walking aids, who had suffered falls, and those manifesting anxiety.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our sample included subjects of advanced age, primarily women, who were institutionalized less than five years, with multiple diseases and polypharmacy users. They presented long-standing short-duration mixed dizziness, that occurred more than once a month and affected mainly the functional aspect.
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Program in Human Communication Disorders (PPGDCH), Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, RS, Brazil. Electronic address: sa_marqs@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Tábada Samantha Marques
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Rosa
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, RS, Brazil; Epidemiology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Anaelena Bragança de
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Moraes
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Program in Human Communication Disorders (PPGDCH), Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, RS, Brazil; Speech Therapy Course, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, RS, Brazil; Postgraduate Program in Communication Sciences - Human Communication, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Valdete Alves Valentins dos
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Santos Filha
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D004244:Dizziness / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006707:Homes for the Aged / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Dizziness; Elderly; Health profile; Idoso; Instituição de longa permanência para idosos; Long-stay institution for the elderly; Perfil de saúde; Tontura