Prevalência de indicativos de depressão em idosos de uma unidade de atenção ao idoso

Abstract

Este é um estudo transversal, observacional e de abordagem quantitativa, realizado em Uberaba (MG), com o objetivo de traçar o perfil sociodemográfico e estimar a prevalência de indicativos de depressão em idosos. Foram incluídas na pesquisa pessoas com 60 anos ou mais, de ambos os sexos, que frequentam periodicamente a UAI. Dos 317 participantes, a maioria foi representada pelo sexo feminino, com 60-70 anos, viúvos, aposentados, com baixa escolaridade e baixa renda. A prevalência de indicativos de depressão foi de 30,9%. Estes dados mostram a necessidade de realizarem-se ações de diagnóstico e tratamento para a depressão, bem como de disponibilização de suportes para os aspectos psicossociais e emocionais dos idosos.

Prevalence of depressive symptoms and associated factors among older adults treated at a referral center

“…In the present study, the prevalence of depressive symptoms was high, 37.2%, when compared to population-based studies conducted in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina 1 , Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul 19 , and northern Minas Gerais 5 , which presented lower values than those observed in this study, using the same instrument (GDS-15). However, the prevalence of depressive symptoms in community-dwelling older adults is lower than that observed among the older adults treated at CRASI, possibly due to the clinical profile of referral to the service, according to the criteria of the Older Adults Health Care Network 12,20 .…”

“…Studies that investigated the prevalence of depressive symptoms in older adults treated at referral centers in Brazil revealed a prevalence ranging from 7.1%, with 313 older adults based on a screening performed in Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul 13 , to 30.9% based on a survey of 317 older adults in the city of Uberaba, Minas Gerais 12 . Part of this disparity between findings is due to the methodology, the instrument used in the research, the inclusion criteria, the peculiarities of each region and the way of measuring data, which may interfere with the final results of the study.…”

“…With regard to health conditions, factors described as associated with depressive signs are functional disability; a negative perception of health, smoking; greater use of medicines; insomnia and chronic somatic comorbidities. Despite these aspects described in literature, there are still gaps in knowledge, as there is a lack of studies 1,[11][12][13] relating to older adults treated in referral services for the health of this population.…”

“…Studies 5,[11][12][13] have shown that frailty associated with aging increases susceptibility to disease and influences the functional capacity of older adults, in addition to generating a negative perception of one's own health, directly compromising the individual's ability to cope with stressful conditions. It is important to identify the self-rated health of the population, as a negative perception of health is described in literature as a predictor of the mortality, functional disability and mental health of older adults 1,5,11 .…”