Perfil socioeconômico-cultural de uma universidade aberta à terceira idade: reflexo da realidade brasileira?

AIM: to compare socio-economic and cultural data from participants of a University Open to Seniors of a university in the State of Alagoas to equivalent data from the Brazilian and Alagoas' state population of the same age group. METHOD: A comparative cross-sectional study conducted with 460 participants from the three first classes of the University for the Third Age (UATI) of a public University in Alagoas. The participants were compared to the population of Alagoas state and Brazil by: sex, age, education, household composition, income and occupation, describing also the marital status, participation in community activities, expectations regarding UATI and the way the student had learned of the UATI program. RESULTS: The students of this UATI show statistically significant difference as compared to the population of Alagoas and Brazil regarding the distribution of sex, age, type of residence, education and occupation (p≤ 0.05). Most are married, active in the religious community, seeking personal growth, and leisure and distraction in UATI and heard of UATI through television and friends. CONCLUSIONS: the profile found does not reflect the Brazilian reality, stressing the need for UATIs, such as programs to promote health, including the elderly of socio-economic and cultural disadvantaged classes.