Prevalência de sintomas obsessivos e compulsivos em idosos institucionalizados com demência - estudo transversal

Objective: to investigate the prevalence of obsessive and compulsive symptoms in institutionalized older people with dementia. Methods: cross-sectional research was carried out with 52 older people with a medical diagnosis of dementia, institutionalized in the city of Maringá, Paraná, Brazil. A questionnaire was used with questions regarding age, gender, age group, race, education level, time since diagnosis of dementia, type of dementia, use of medication, and the presence or absence of the main obsessive and compulsive symptoms associated with the dementia condition. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics (p<0.05). Results: there was a majority of older women (55.8%), aged 80 or over (57.7%), with low education (57.7%), with Alzheimer’s disease (82.7%) and with more than four years of institutionalization (59.6%). The majority had difficulty controlling their thoughts (86.5%), talking alone (76.9%), finding things around them dangerous (61.5%), getting upset if objects are not organized symmetrically (65.4%), and organizing things in a particular order (69.2%). No significant association (p > 0.05) was found between the number of obsessive and compulsive symptoms and the sociodemographic profile and the dementia and institutionalization profile of institutionalized older people with dementia. Conclusion: the majority of institutionalized older people with dementia presented with obsessive and compulsive symptoms.