Prevalence and factors associated with alcohol and tobacco use among non-institutionalized elderly persons

Abstract Objective: The present study aims to evaluate the prevalence of and factors associated with the use of tobacco and alcohol among elderly people living in the northern part of the city of Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Method: A cross-sectional study conducted through a home survey was performed with a sample of 423 elderly citizens. Interviews were conducted through a questionnaire including the Fagerström and Audit-C tests. The data were subjected to descriptive statistical analysis and multinomial regression. Results: The prevalence of elderly smokers was 9.0%, 32.0% were former smokers, 26.7% of the sample consumed alcoholic beverages and 3.2% used alcohol and smoked. In the multinomial logistic regression model, the factors that were significantly associated with smoking were the male gender, an age of 60 to 70 years old; the presence of self-reported health problems; while the consumption of alcohol was associated with the male gender and frailty. Conclusion: There was a low prevalence of elderly people living in the community who consumed alcoholic beverages and/or were smokers. Such individuals, however, almost exclusively suffered from impaired health and potentially a poor quality of life. Regarding the profile of such elderly persons, there were similarities between the socio-demographic and health variables, suggesting the possibility of a more targeted approach to these individuals