Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To describe the sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with the death of elderly patients treated at an emergency room in the State of Minas Gerais. METHOD: Cross-sectional descriptive study, quantitative in nature, secondary source data. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND: Several factors directly affect the quality of life of the elderly and their search for access to health services. RESULTS: There were 11,306 elderly people attended, predominantly male (52.79%), aged between 60 and 64 years (25.49%), living in Belo Horizonte (63.94%). Predominance of the color orange (23.72%) in the risk classification, 44.49% were admitted due to falls, 25.03% for clinical reasons, 10.30% for being run over. Of the total 11.91% died, females are 29.3% less likely, 80 years or older are 2.3 times more likely, those residing in Belo Horizonte have 27.6% less chances, risk classification red it is 24.0% more likely, entry due to burns is 4.2 times more likely. CONCLUSION: It is essential to implement public policies to prevent falls, traffic accidents and chronic diseases in the elderly.