[Gerontological profile of an elderly population in Tabasco, México]

Defining the gerontological profile of an elderly population in Tabasco, Mexico.

This was an observational, retrospective, cross-sectional, descriptive study. The study population consisted of 35,745 elderly adults who were enrolled in the Mexican Older Adults' Institute (Instituto Nacional de las Personas Adultas Mayores-INAPAM) in Tabasco. Sampling was not used. The selection criteria invol ved elderly adults who were enrolled in INAPAM from January/2004-December/2006. Socio-demographic, sanitary and personal preferences were the variables considered. INAPAM's Mexican Survey of Senior Citizens' database for the study period was used for providing the necessary information; descriptive statistics were used for analysis.

Some elderly adults were unable to work (11.9 %); those working did so in the countryside (10.5 %). Almost all of them had some sort of income (99.8 %): family support (46 %) or employment (22.3 %). A fifth of the population were illiterate (21 %). Most of them li ved with someone else (88.9 %) with a spouse (57.3 %) or children (45.9 %). Most li ved in their own houses (87.1 %), had basic services (94.3 %) and a stove, television and refrigerator (74.5 %). The frequently occurring diseases were osteo-degenerative (50.4 %), ophthalmic (39.2 %) dental (16.3 %), high blood pressure-related, Diabetes mellitus and tumours. Most had social security (63.3 %) but mostly used Mexican Ministry of Health services (28.7 %). They fostered the following values: health (81.2 %), family (72.4 %) and love (45.9 %); sharing family time was the most frequent free-time activity (72 %) followed by religious activities (56.4 %).

The aforementioned features formed the gerontological profile for elderly adults in Tabasco; and the results of this series partially differed from that reported by other Mexican institutions.