Treino Das Funções Executivas em Idosos: Uma Revisão Sistemática da Literatura

Executive Functions (EF) are highly sensitive to the effects of human aging. This systematic review had the goal of searching articles using keywords related to the training of executive functions in the elderly. The articles were found in international databases, and were researched and analyzed. The keywords used were training, executive function, and elderly. The consulted databases were: Lilacs, PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. 200 studies were found concerning the period of 2008 to 2014, but 184 were excluded because they did not fit into the intended focus of study, or they were found in more than one database. With that, 16 studies were found which talked specifically about training executive functions in the elderly. Despite a few conflicting data, and some different types of study, it is frequently reported that the training of executive functions is associated with losses in day-to-day life functions, in quality of life, and in work performance. The results of these studies show improvement in the quality of life after the training of abilities. The importance of training routine chores and everyday instrumental activities is highlighted. This way, training EF could be useful in long-term treatments for preventing their decline, and for improving the quality of life. In conclusion, implementing an EF training program could improve the quality of life of elderly people, lessening the functional impact of its participants’ lives. As Funções Executivas (FE) são altamente sensíveis aos efeitos do envelhecimento humano. Este estudo de revisão sistemática teve como objetivo realizar buscas de artigos nas palavras-chave relacionados com treino das funções executivas em idosos. Os artigos indexados em bases de dados internacionais foram pesquisados e analisados. Os descritores foram: “training executive function and elderly”. As bases de dados utilizadas foram: Lilacs, PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus e Web Of Science. No período de 2008 a 2014 foram encontrados 200 estudos, sendo que 184 foram excluídos, por não estarem de acordo com o foco pretendido e ainda por repetição em outras bases de dados. Com isso foram relacionados 16 estudos, que especificamente apresentavam treino das funções executivas em idosos. Apesar de alguns dados conflitantes e diferentes tipos de estudo, é frequentemente relatado que o treino das funções executivas está associado a prejuízos nas funções da vida cotidiana, qualidade de vida e desempenho no trabalho. Nos resultad