Letter to Editor
Aging, Cognitive Impairment and Autonomy. Is there a Possible Relationship?
Antonio de Padua Serafim*
Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology Unit, Institute and Department of Psychiatry, Medical School, Sao Paulo University (FMUSP), Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
Methodist University of São Paulo (Umesp), Sao Bernardo do Campo, SP, Brazil
Abstract
Increased longevity, an increasingly common reality in the most diverse societies, is related to issues of health, quality of life and wellbeing of the elderly population. For the World Health Organization (The WHOQOL group, 1998), the concept of quality of life is defined as the perception that the individual holds about his or her position in life, within the context of the individual’s respective culture and value systems, and also as related to his or her own goals, expectations, standards and concerns.