Study in five countries gives Portugal the worst result in healthy age
All Portuguese elderly were from the Central region
The Portuguese elderly who had the worst results in a study that evaluated healthy aging in people aged 70 and over from five European countries.
The work, which recruited in five countries more than two thousand elderly people without disabling diseases and without great physical coordinates and that in the Portuguese part José Pereira da Silva, from the Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Coimbra, studied that the elderly more men in Austria and Switzerland .
The Portuguese elderly, all the Centers, had the worst results of the five countries, a situation that the specialist, in statements to the Lusa agency, says is not surprising, although he emphasizes that “these differences are, but correctable”.
“They are not an unavoidable consequence of age. It would be important to have a program to realize and plan corrective measures (…). We have to find solutions to our ability [financeira]”, he adds.
The been recruited also people who recruited more alarming results and independents.
“All [os países envolvidos] are admittedly richer, on average, than Portugal, and the educational level is different [mais elevado], but this is the reality. On the other hand of our average, we are very proud of our average, as we have the highest life expectancy in the world, but it’s not with quality. And this deserves attention and must be debated and recognized,” he says.
The 5.8.7% from France, 36% from Germany, 36.2% from Switzerland and 5% from Germany. Regardless of country of origin, they further indicate that healthy aging values are associated with age, lower body mass indexes, female sex and better physical condition.
Asked about the different reasons, that the study does not admit hypotheses, José Pereira da Silva several hypotheses. “Individual economic resources are very important, the person being able to go to the doctor, buy medicines, eat well, go to the gym (…)”.
“There is also the dimension of society’s resources, such as how far a person is from a physical exercise center, or how many gyms there are at an affordable cost for an elderly person, or how medical services promote habits or not” , adds.
The specialist also points to the introduction of the USF model [Unidades de Saúde Familiar] in general practice, noting that “it represented a great benefit”: “for the first time, it became the doctor and the health service that goes after the citizen, for example, if he is not vaccinated”.
“These are very positive positive points where they can go further, without necessarily representing a huge cost that as a people we could not afford”,
Consider that these differences also have to do with the traditions of different countries and remind us: “we, by far, have a lower prevalence of vitamin D deficiency. In the countries with the best results, people are complemented and we are not. Although the importance of vitamin D is debatable, it is only an indicator of the presence of health promotion by the services”.
In all countries that you compare with Portugal in this study, record the relationship between general health status and educational level “is direct and significant” and that it is stronger than the economic/health status relationship.
“People don’t know, they don’t have access and then they don’t make the best choices”, he says.
On the other hand, he underlines the importance that political power must give to the issue, exemplifying: “Portugal has a Secretary of State for Youth, but there is none for the elderly. more and more important of a country that we continue to do new things
The specialist also adds that the media can make a difference, recalling the importance of health education programs on television, “instead of being half-seen when it comes to selling products that don’t even have scientific action.”
In addition to the study now published, the expert also points out others that mirror different indicators of the health of the elderly, such as one that shows that these are the healthiest of the elderly (prevalence of 13.7%, a had 0% ) or what indicates a higher prevalence (34.5%) of iron deficiency (which leads to anemia). The minimum recorded in the French elderly, with 24%.