[Demographic, social, physical and mental factors associated with functional capacity in the elderly, Antioquia,...

Objective To describe the demographic, social, physical and mental health factors associated with the functional capacity of older adults in the Department of Antioquia in 2012. Materials and Methods A descriptive study with the records of 4 248 adults aged 60 years or more as the population, surveyed in the Department of Antioquia, in 2012. They were asked about their functional capacity through a Katz survey consisting of 6 items. With the independent variables, frequency measurements were calculated, along with crude and adjusted prevalence ratios (PR) with their respective 95 % CI. Results Being single, widowed or separated, presenting little or no educational level (66.4 %), suffering from hypertension (56.7 %), diabetes (16.8 %) and bone problems (22.0 %), cigarette smoking (64.6 %), nutritional risk, suffering from depression (20.1 %), or anxiety and cognitive impairment (49.6 %), impact negatively on functional capacity of older adults in Antioquia. However, younger ages, active social lives, and proper use of leisure strengthen good functional capacity in the same population group. Conclusions The results of this study indicate that there are demographic factors of physical and mental health that negatively affect the functional capacity of older adults. Therefore, training them on the issue, in order to recognize these factors and their influence on the weakening of functional capacity, is required.