Health of incarcerated elderly

In recent decades, Brazil has seen a change in its population profile characterized by the rapid and accentuated increase of the elderly. The natural aging process weakens the individual making them more prone to develop old age diseases that can compromise independence and self-reliance. When investigating the issue of crime in the country, one can see an increase of the participation of elderly people in this context, ending with the incarceration of these individuals. The objective of this study was to conduct a theoretical discussion about the increasing the number of elderly people in prison and the impact of the prison environment on old age and the health of these individuals. It was possible to observe that social and economic factors can contribute to the entry of the elderly into the world of crime and that the health and aging of these individuals are negatively affected, due mainly to the unhealthy environment and the lack of assistance in prison.