Functional capacity of institutionalized elderly with and without Alzheimer's disease

INTRODUCTION: The longevity of the population has brought about chronic nd degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease. This disease emphasizes the physiological changes of aging, altering a person's ability to care for itself, producing great dependence. OBJECTIVE: To compare the functional capacity of institutionalized elderly people with and without Alzheimer's disease. METHODS: Cross-sectional study involving 201 elderly residents in four long-stay public institutions, divided into experimental group with 20 elderly patients with Alzheimer's disease, and control group with 181 subjects without the disease. We obtained demographic data and participants underwent functional evaluation by Barthel index. RESULTS: The majority of residents were female in both groups; the experimental group had higher age (p=0.002), shorter time to institutionalization (p=0.01) and were dependent (p=0.01), compared with subjects without the disease. CONCLUSION: The elderly institutionalized patients with Alzheimer's disease have lower functional capacity than elderly residents without the disease.