Abstract

CARDOZO-FERNANDEZ, Osvaldo Miguel; AGUILERA-GAONA, Edgar; FERREIRA-GAONA, Marta Inés  and  DIAZ-REISSNER, Clarisse Virginia. Depression and associated risk factors in hospitalized geriatric patients. Mem. Inst. Investig. Cienc. Salud [online]. 2017, vol.15, n.1, pp.48-56. ISSN 1812-9528.  https://doi.org/10.18004/mem.iics/1812-9528/2017.015(01)48-056.

Depression is a recurrent chronic disorder with important negative consequences, being probably the first cause of suffering of the elderly. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to determine the frequency of depression and risk factors in adults older than 60 years hospitalized at the Hospital Geriatrico "Dr. Gerardo Boungermini of the Instituto de Prevision Social during the period 2014-2015. After signing an informed consent, a questionnaire containing the geriatric depression scale of Yesavage, the Barthel scale (basic activities of daily living) and the Lawton instrumental activities of daily life scale were applied. Sixty elderly people participated in the study ages between 61 and 95 years, 50.0% was women. 56.7% was married, and 73.3% had primary school. Ninety percent used some medication and 96.7% presented some comorbidity, with hypertension being the most frequent. Depression was observed in 88.3% being mild in 50.0%. Dependency for basic activities was observed in 86.7% and dependency for instrumental activities of daily life in 95.0%. A significant association between functional dependency and depression was found among the studied risk factors. The frequency of depression was high, which can represent an important burden for the patient, the family and the institution. Primary health care personnel are key in assessing the mental state of older people, both emotionally and cognitively.

Keywords : elderly; depression; risk factors.

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