Depressive symptoms and associated factors in elderly people in the Primary Health Care

Objective: to analyze depressive symptoms and its associated factors, the use of antidepressants and the presence of a diagnosis of depression in the elderly. Methods: cross-sectional study with 248 elderly people attended in Basic Health Units using the Geriatric Depression Scale - Short Form. A ch...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Rosmarie Hajjar, Giovanna Gaudenci Nardelli, Eliana Maria Gaudenci, Álvaro da Silva Santos
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidade Federal do Ceará 2018-01-01
Series:Rev Rene
Subjects:
Online Access:https://periodicos.ufc.br/rene/article/view/31077
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Summary:Objective: to analyze depressive symptoms and its associated factors, the use of antidepressants and the presence of a diagnosis of depression in the elderly. Methods: cross-sectional study with 248 elderly people attended in Basic Health Units using the Geriatric Depression Scale - Short Form. A chi-square test, the odds ratio and a binary logistic regression were used to analyze the data. Results: depressive symptoms were identified in 32.7% of the elderly, 25.4% with scores indicative of mild depression and 7.3% of severe depression. Physical activity and comorbidities were the factors associated with the presence of depressive symptoms. Among the elderly, 22.2% presented a previous diagnosis of depression and 17.0% of them used antidepressants. Conclusion: depressive symptoms were associated with physical inactivity and comorbidities. Fewer than half of the elderly with indicatives of severe depression used antidepressants. The report of a previous diagnosis of depression was more frequent than the indicatives of severe depression.
ISSN:1517-3852
2175-6783