EPIDEMIOLOGICAL PROFILE AND FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE HOSPITALIZATION OF ELDERLY PEOPLE: A PROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY

Introduction: the epidemiological transition is characterized by the predominance of chronic non-communicable diseases, especially cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, cancer, and diabetes mellitus, which are the main causes of morbidity, mortality, and hospitalization among older adults [1,2,3]. Objective: to characterize the sociodemographic and health profile of older adults and associate it with the causes of hospitalization. Methodology: a prospective cohort study with 448 older adults, with baseline data collection in 2019 and follow-up in 2025. Descriptive statistics and Pearson’s chi-square test (χ²) were used to verify associations between sociodemographic, health, and hospitalization variables. The study followed Resolution No. 466/2012 and was approved under opinions No. 2.668.936 and No. 6.034.837 [4]. Results: females predominated (70.5%), aged between 60 and 69 years (44.9%), with income between 1 and 2 minimum wages (44.1%), and low educational level (65.8%). Most participants had a partner (52.4%), did not live alone (81.6%), and reported never feeling lonely (59.8%). Cognitive decline was identified in 34%, multimorbidity in 69.6%, and polypharmacy in 41.3%. Among the participants, 96 were hospitalized (21.8%), mainly due to cardiovascular diseases (15.6%), neoplasms (12.5%), and respiratory diseases (9.4%). An association was observed between hospitalization, polypharmacy, multimorbidity, and cognitive decline (p<0.001) [5]. Conclusion: hospitalizations among older adults were associated with chronic non-communicable diseases, multimorbidity, polypharmacy, and cognitive decline, reinforcing the importance of prevention, clinical control, and longitudinal follow-up in primary health care.