Verbal language spontaneous recovery after ischemic stroke

Characterization of self-reported communication disorders in elderly women living in Manaus, state of Amazonas, Brazil

OBJECTIVES: Characterize self-reported communication disorders highlighting the association between variables of health conditions, socio-demographic factors, lifestyle, hearing loss and diseases in an elderly group. METHODS: Cross-sectional study conducted from August to December 2012, with 159 women aged 60 or more, recruited at UnATI/UEA (University of the Third Age, University of the State of Amazonas), Manaus, Amazonas State, Brazil. The subjects were interviewed and asked for self-reported communications disorders. Descriptive analysis was performed using central tendency and dispersion measures for continuous variables and frequency distributions for categorical variables and the prevalence of self-reported language disorders was estimated. To verify the presence of statistically significant differences it was used χ2, considering the significance level of 5% (p≤0.05). RESULTS: Communication disorders were reported by 8.18% of elderly women. The following deficits were reported: intelligibility (6.92%), oral comprehension (10.69%), lexical access (10.69%), and recent memory (38.36%). Reading and writing difficulties were informed by 5.66% and 6.92%, respectively. Among the illiterate group, 20% declared communication disorders, while the literate group, 8.44%. Statistical association was verified between communication disorders and self-reported hearing loss (p=0.03). Association was not detected between communication disorders and diseases. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the diversity of communication disorders within this population, further studies are needed to assess if changes occur at the aging process and how they work so that possibilities for prevention can be discussed.