[Cognitive and health conditions in elderly participants in recreation and leisure activities centers].

The objective of the present study was to identify the cognitive and health conditions of elderly participants in community center groups in a northern city in Rio Grande do Sul. The study is a descriptive cross-sectional research, performed with 85 elderly participants attending community center groups. Two instruments were used for data collection. One instrument gathered sociodemographic data and included the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Descriptive statistics were used in data analysis. Results indicated a female predominance 79 (92.9%), with 52 participants within the age bracket 60-69 years (61.2%); 46 were widowed (54.1%), 45 had four to seven years of formal education (52.9%) and 53 were living with companions (62.4%). Hypertension and varicose veins, in addition to fall events 34 (40%) stood out among the diseases/conditions determined to affect participants in this study. The MMSE demonstrated that 20 (23.6%) of the elderly people presented with cognitive decline. Results point out the need for guided interventions to maintain functional capacity and autonomy in the elderly.