Impacto das medidas de distanciamento/isolamento social sobre hábitos de vida e sobre a tontura de um grupo de idosos com vestibulopatias

Abstract

Introduction: Dizziness is a symptom present in 30% of the elderly over 65 years old and in up to 50% of individuals over 85 years old; and interferes with their daily activities and quality of life. The main non-pharmacological measure to control the transmission of the COVID-19 pandemic was social distancing/isolation, and it is essential that people cooperate with it, especially the risk groups, including the elderly population. In extreme situations like this, anxiety and stress levels increase, which can lead to the adoption of habits that aggravate the perception of dizziness in people who have a vestibular disorder, such as eating unhealthy diets, reducing physical activity levels and changing the pattern of sleep. Objective: The aim of this study was to verify the impact of measures of social distancing/isolation on the lifestyle and dizziness of a group of elderly people with vestibular disorders. Materials and methods: Participants of the AFRID - UFU project, of both genders, over 60 years old, who answered a questionnaire about their experience during social distancing/isolation and about dizziness, were approached. Data were tabulated in the software Microsoft Excel and descriptively analyzed. Results: Forty-four elderly people considered to have vestibular disorders were selected through their answers to the questions related to dizziness in the questionnaire applied. Of the selected sample, the majority were female (93.2%) and aged between 60 and 69 years (50%). Most adhered to isolation for more than 60 days (97.7%) and this adherence was total by 47.7% of the participants and partial by 52.3%. None of the volunteers had a diagnosis of COVID-19 during the research period. Most respondents (75%) did not consume fatty food, caffeinated, sweets and alcohol before the period of social isolation/distance. During the period in question, this healthy habit continued in most respondents (72.7%). Before the pandemic, the number of participants who did not perform physical activity was 6.8%. During the period of the disease, this number increased to 56.8%. Most of the elderly (43.2%) slept from 6 to 8 hours per night before the period of social distancing/isolation. During this period, the majority (40.9%) began to sleep from 4 to 6 hours per night. As for the quality of sleep of the participants, most of them (54.5%) considered it as good before the pandemic period. During the previously mentioned period, this number dropped to 38.6%. During the period of social distancing/isolation, most elderly people felt stressed and sad (56.8% and 70.5%, respectively). Despite this, the majority (81.8%) managed to control the way they spend their time. Most participants (95.5%) felt dizzy before the pandemic, but 61.4% felt that this symptom did not worsen during the period of the disease. Discussion and Conclusion: We can conclude that the measures of social distancing/isolation can somehow affect the lifestyle of the elderly, but it cannot be said that such measures were a trigger for the worsening of dizziness in the elderly evaluated. More studies on the subject are needed.