Assessment of Social Support and Its Association to Depression, Self-Perceived Health and Chronic Diseases in Elderly Individuals Residing in an Area of Poverty and Social Vulnerability in Rio de Janeiro City, Brazil

Abstract

ObjectivesSocial support (SS) influences the elderly ability to cope with the losses of ageing process. This study was aimed at assessing SS among elderly users of a primary healthcare unit in a poor and violent area of Rio de Janeiro City, and at verifying its association with depression, self-perceived health (SPH), marital status and chronic illnesses.MethodsA cross-sectional study was performed based on a convenience sample of 180 individuals aged 60 years or older. SS was measured with part of the Brazilian version of Medical Outcomes Study's SS scale, and SPH and depression were assessed, respectively, through one question and the Brazilian version of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders. SS medians were calculated for the categories of SPH, depression, marital status and chronic illnesses variables, and differences were evaluated with the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests. Additionally, Pearson's chi-square test and logistic regression were employed to identify unadjusted and adjusted associations between SS and those variables.ResultsThe participant’s mean age was 73 years old, and level of education was 3 years of school education on average. They were predominantly females (73.3%), and non-married (55.0%). Among them, 74.4% perceived their SS as satisfactory, 55.0% perceived their health as good, 27.8% were diagnosed with major depression and 83.3% had hypertension. Especially for those depressed and with bad SPH, the medians of SS measure were much lower than for others, reaching an unsatisfactory level. Moreover, controlling for other factors, non-depressed individuals were more likely (OR = 2.32) to have satisfactory SS.Conclusionin the violent and poor area explored in this research low SS is highly prevalent in the elderly. Depressed individuals are more likely to have low SS and this condition should be investigated in depressed elderly. The reduced scale is useful for low education individuals.

Factors associated with depression in older adults over the age of 75 living in an urban area

“…Los resultados del trabajo constatan que el ser mujer, la percepción positiva de la salud y la fragilidad presentan una fuerte asociación con la presencia de síntomas depresivos, coincidiendo con otros autores (35,36) . No se ha observado asociación con los aspectos negativos de las relaciones sociales a pesar de que la literatura la identifique como una variable predictora (37,38) pudiendo deberse este hecho a que la muestra del presente trabajo presenta una buena red de apoyo familiar.…”

Doenças crônicas não transmissíveis e fatores sociodemográficos associados a sintomas de depressão em idosos

“…Os resultados, no entanto, são semelhantes a um levantamento realizado em idosos voluntários de uma comunidade carente do Rio de Janeiro, que identificou uma prevalência de HAS e DM de 83% e 32%, respectivamente 18 . Traduzem também a elevada mortalidade proporcional por DCNT no Brasil, que em 2007 foi de aproximadamente 75% 19 .…”

Coincidence of low social support and high depressive score on quality of life in elderly

“…Social support is important not only for its effect on individuals' ability to cope with the losses that accompany ageing, but also for the individual health of the elderly, the risk of numerous diseases at advanced age, mortality and other related risk factors [8]. Social support is especially important during old age.…”